Blindspotting

Parental Rating: R

Contains: Language    Violence    Drug Use    Adult Content    

Jill's Review

Opens July 27, 2018

Runs 95 minutes

Collin (Daveed Diggs) and Miles (Rafael Casal) are childhood best friends. Collin is black and Miles is white. And, Collin is finishing his last three days of probation and trying very hard not to mess it up. They both work for a moving company and as they travel around, they watch as their neighborhood slowly becomes gentrified. They sometimes feel slightly left behind. One night after work, Collin is a witness to a police shooting. But, he is too scared to come forward because he is a black man with a felony on his record. Miles tries too hard to fit into the neighborhood, sometimes adopting a "ghetto" attitude and wearing a grill on his teeth. As Collin wraps up his last days of probation, he struggles to maintain his friendship with Miles amidst a clash of racial tension and what he views as white privilege, all taking place on the streets of Oakland.

Ths Husband and I liked this movie more than we expected. There was always a vague feeling of dread throughout the film - like something bad was going to happen. I think that was the filmmaker's point. That was how Collin felt every day of his life as a black man (especially while he was on probation). He was just waiting for the next shoe to drop. The racial tension was pretty explosive at times in this film. But, you could also see the bond of friendship that was hard to deny, even when it might have been better for Collin to stay away from Miles, at times. This was an eye-opening look at life in Oakland from the perspective of two struggling friends, just trying to get by. The film was written by Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, who are from Oakland and friends in real life. They are both very good in this film. If you liked Daveed Diggs in Hamilton, then you will not be disappointed in this film. He gets a chance to showcase some of his crazy great rapping ability. Anyway, this film might not appeal to everyone, but it is an interesting look at race and class in Oakland. So, go see it.

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