COVID-19 Special: 'Blindspotting' (15)

Director: Carlos López Estrada

Cast: Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casal, Janina Gavankar

Where can I watch?: Blindspotting is streaming on Prime Video

Rating: 5/5

Review: It's the duty of art to tackle difficult, uncomfortable subjects. In the case of director Carlos López Estrada's excellent Blindspotting, numerous timely subjects - from racism, to gentrification, police brutality and beyond - are dissected in a strikingly lyrical, often humorous, way. With just three days left until his probation is over, Collin (an outstanding Daveed Diggs) is desperate to stay out of trouble, but it seems life has other plans - his friendship with the volatile Miles (Rafael Casal) and the witnessing of a fleeing black man being shot by a white officer put him in a precarious position, as does the lingering presence of the crime that placed him in prison in the first place. From the premise I've described, you might expect a truly bleak, tragic watching experience, but you'd be mistaken - one of the film's inherent strengths is its ability to fuse the horrendous with the humorous in an honest, open way: even in tragedy, human interactions still give rise to mirth and hilarity. Perhaps most remarkable of all is the stunning imagery that is interspersed throughout the film in an almost theatrical way. From Collin's blue- and red-lit nightmare, to the imagery of young black men standing beside their gravestones in the town's cemetery, and the juxtaposition of the newly renovated 'white' houses alongside the traditional Oakland homes, there's plenty of painterly shots that resonate deeply. There's one particular image towards the end of the film that comes as a complete shock, but I won't spoil it here. The use of spoken rap is another excellent device, taking the medium so often associated with black males and injecting it into the story in an emotive, almost Shakespearean way. As I sat down to put pen to paper, I realised that I do not possess the skills to do justice to this gem of a film, so I can only encourage you to seek it out and watch it too.

A COVID-19 Must-Watch?: Striking, smart, taut and telling of our times, Blindspotting isn't just an excellent film, it's an important one as well. Watch and remember it for a long time to come.

Comments

'Mary Queen of Scots' (15)

**** Arriving on the shores of Scotland, Mary Stuart moves to reclaim her title and her position as Queen. A Catholic and with a claim to the throne of England, she immediately poses a threat to Queen Elizabeth, a Protestant and the last of the House of Tudor. The relationship between Mary Stuart and Elizabeth Tudor is one that has fascinated historians and artists alike for centuries. In a history that's dominated by male sovereigns, Mary and Elizabeth ruled alongside each other until Elizabeth had her cousin executed - surely that means that the two hated each other? In his play which premiered in 1800, Friedrich Schiller portrays Mary's last days, and the fraught relationship between the two women - one that is far from the 'black and white' dynamic that you might expect. Since then, numerous historians have revisited this momentous moment and dissected the connection between the two. One such biography is John Guy's Queen of Scots: The True Life

'Riders of Justice' (15)

Director: Anders Thomas Jensen Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Andrea Heick Gadeberg, Lars Brygmann, Nicholas Bro Where can I watch?: Riders of Justice is in cinemas now Rating: 4/5 Review: There are some films that defy categorisation. For example, from watching the trailer for Riders of Justice, you might assume it to be some form of action comedy with a healthy dose of violence thrown in for good measure. However, Riders of Justice is actually far more complex than that, tackling themes of masculinity, mental health and even the existential alongside the occasional shoot out and grisly murder. At first, it appears to be about revenge - Mads Mikkelsen (looking particularly brutish) returns from a tour following the death of his wife in rail accident that could well be connected with a violent gang. Or was it all merely coincidence? Uncommunicative and unrelenting in his refusal to undertake therapy, Mikkelsen's Markus represents the archetypal army man - silent,

'Jojo Rabbit' (12A)

***** Stuck at home after injuring himself at a Hitler Youth weekend, Jojo discovers that his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their house. The words 'comedy' and 'Nazis' are hardly bedfellows, and yet director/screenwriter Taika Waititi has somehow created a film that features both. Without doubt, it's a highly controversial movie, with Joker levels of division already popping up across the internet - even I have to admit that laughing at the opening montage in which a young boy practises his 'Heil, Hitler' felt quite uncomfortable - but I'd argue that this charming little oddity is probably the film we all need right now. Cards on the table - the film never laughs at the atrocities the Nazis committed. In fact, we see the world through Jojo's (delightful newcomer Roman Griffin Davis) eyes - a crazy, confusing place that's made all the more bizarre by the presence of his imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi). Dubbed

Eleanor Reviews

Search This Blog