by Seán McGovern
Detroit could make Kathryn Bigelow's style definable. Both Zero Dark Thirty and The Hurt Locker tapped into a social, political and very American psyche of the moment. And unlike other filmmakers, hearing that Bigelow is to bring the 1967 Detroit riots to the screen seems absolutely appropriate. After all, Bigelow has always had an eye for life teetering on a knife edge, of people on the fringes - be they wandering vampires, Soviet submariners or black market memory peddlers. Her two most recent films have cemented her as an auteur with a distinct vision but it's adjectives like tense, visceral or full-throated that define her. A director who has long appreciated genre pictures, it's thanks to her historic Oscar standing that her films now arrive with a sense of expectation.
A new trailer for Detroit has recently been released, doing what all good second trailers do: it tells us a little bit more, and hints to something different, both of which will be revealed after the jump...
YES
- ♥︎ a trailer that's bold enough to use a partial scene as a promo. The trailer begins with John Boyega as Melvin Dismukes being questioned by police. What this tells us is that the film isn't just about the incident of the Detroit riots but potentially the grossly unjust trial that followed.
- The rise of John Boyega as both thespian and superstar. He's just finished a run on stage here in London at the Old Vic in a production of Woyzeck, has Star Wars to jump back into and now this. He's a commanding screen presence with a long career ahead. And he's from Peckhham! (which will mean something to South London dwellers)
- It looks to be superbly shot by cinematographer Barry Ackroyd who Bigelow worked with on The Hurt Locker.
- So many people! Who is going to emerge from the ensemble? (Or is this a NO?)
- The incident at the Algiers Motel involved three young white women - focusing on this incident could also bring gender politics to the fore which gives Bigelow even more complexity to play with.
- The trailer captures moments in time that resonate today in more ways than one.
NO
- Though this will undoubtedly be a hard hitter, the trailer has so much going on that it's hard to know exactly if the focus will be on the riots themselves, or primarily the Algiers motel, the trial or aftermath. Is the movie focused enough?
- If the goal is historical accuracy and bringing the events to a new and wider audience, how much character development will we get outside Boyega?
MAYBE SO
- Jessica Chastain got an Oscar nomination for a character whose driving ambition was hunting for Bin Laden, without much else to her. Perhaps Detroit will focus on more ordinary people who navigated a segregated, racist and violent world and whose lives were taken from them. A bit of heart could really make this film.
Are you a Yes No or Maybe So?
...Oh come on, you know this is an absolute YES. With the August release it looks like Annapurna pictures think they can capitalise on the summer box office as well as generate a buzz that will bring it all the way to the Oscars.