Plot: Based on the events of the Detroit Race Riots of 1967, centering on the incident at the Algiers Motel.

Kathryn Bigelow has somewhat being creating a true story loose trilogy of sorts with The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty and now Detroit.

I don't love The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty. I thought the former was really good but not Best Picture worthy and the latter was slow but had a very tense ending.

As for her latest project, all I know about the Detroit race riots in the 1960's was that, there were riots. That's about it. But I have seen enough films set at the same sort of time period to understand that racial tensions were at critical level. So I kind of knew what to expect.

The opening segment is rather strange and unexpected. But once that is over, you are thrown right into the riots. It is some of the most unsettling, horrifying and upsetting content I have seen put to film for some time.
There are countless set-pieces that just felt so raw and truly horrifying. Then the final act starts to mirror those events with today's society and the connection is quite astounding.

Every performance is phenomenal. What was the most impressive part, was that none of the big names in the film are treated like a film star. They felt like real people in this situation and blend in well with the lesser known actors.
I have to start with Will Poulter. His character is a real piece of work. Poulter's performance beautifully sells the ugly nature of the Detroit Police Department at that time. It is the most terrifying performance I have seen for some time. You can almost label as a horror villain.
John Boyega was an impressive stand-out. It felt very sincere and sympathetic. Plus, his American accent is right on the money.
The only other big names in this that I noticed were Jack Reynor and Anthony Mackie. Like I said previously, they are never put in the limelight. But instead are put right in the mix and treated more like minor roles.
There are plenty of stand-outs elsewhere. Most notably Algee Smith. This is a star in the making, both in acting and singing as his character has a number of moments involving singing Motown which is a joyful shift away from the main story. Other actors worth mentioning for their performances are Jacob Latimore, Hannah Murray, Kaitlyn Dever and Ben O'Toole.

As well as the opening segment, the only other thing that let me down was the ending. While the stuff on screen was good, it just felt it over-stayed its welcome. It also fizzled out a few character arc's.

Bigelow has given us something so impactful and could end up being one of my films of the year. She most definitely does not let up on the violence, the tension and helped gives us some terrific performances. Herself and her team manages to put the viewer in a situation that many have probably never experienced. It made me to not want to be part of this and I wanted to get out of there. With Detroit in a literal war zone, and the police using extraordinary and inhuman methods to interrogate people amazed me as to what humans are capable of in the worst possible way.
The whole film made me unsettled, upset, angry, but also heavily gripped, very tense and generally astonished at the events taking place on screen.
I have to mention the documentary-esque camera style also. It really added to the chaotic atmosphere.

While this review is heavily praising the film, the rating below might be good, but not a score that reflects the review. It's hard to explain. But there's a certain special feeling I get off films that I give an exceptional for. This came damn close, but not quite. Those extra marks comes to personal views I'm afraid.

Saying that should not detract my overall feelings of the film. So much of the film had the same reactions you would normally expect to have in a horror film. I would not be surprised if this would end up as the scariest film of the year, and yet it was not a horror.
Despite all of what I saw on screen, the scariest part for me was how much of it mirrored today's society, especially in America.

I can see this doing well as a play, because a lot of it was very contained in one spot. It may be a tough movie to watch. But it is one that is essential viewing, because people need to know about these events.
I'm hopeful this gets involved in the major awards, and that it does well.

Rating: 8/10