Detroit the movie opens in theaters across America this weekend.
It’s the weekend of reckoning for Kathryn Bigelow’s new film « Detroit. »
‘Detroit’ the movie, which is set amidst the turmoil of Detroit’s summer of ’67 – and more specifically, a horrific night of police-led violence known as the Algiers Motel incident – had its world premiere at the Fox Theatre last Tuesday, and followed that with a limited opening in a handful of markets last weekend.
It begins its broader opening with evening screenings tonight, and will be playing nearly 3,000 theaters nationwide by this weekend. Variety predicts its box office will land in the $10-$15 million range – a strong number for such a weighty film, but not close to blockbuster status.
Here’s everything you need to know about the film that’s putting the Motor City in the national spotlight.
From the biggest multiplexes to indie theaters like Cinema Detroit, the film is booked all over metro Detroit. Fandango and Moviefone are both solid spots to hunt for movie times and theaters. Or check out the movie guide in the Free Press sections like Play (Thursday) or Movies + Life (Friday) .
The early reviews arrived just about unanimously positive, and that trend has pretty much continued, according to the Rotten Tomatoes website, which aggregates reviews and audience reaction. A sampling: USA Today calls it stunning and wrenching. The New York Times says it provides a « sometimes muddled picture » in which a « complex, dreadful piece of history becomes an undialectical ordeal of viciousness and victimhood. » Entertainment Weekly describes it as a « brutal, visceral lesson in American history. »
The litany of strong reviews does not mean the film has is above criticism. Media as far-ranging as the New York Times and the Michigan Chronicle have raised the question of whether a white, out-of-town director was best-equipped to tell this particular story. Others, including Detroit’s Metro Times, have described the movie’s violence as exploitative; a reviewer for the Root walked out of the film’s premiere because it was too much.
Aside from debates over the merits of the filmmaking, « Detroit » is also pushing broader conversations. Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds exlpores whether the movie might help drive a national dialogue on race. Meanwhile the Freep’s Rochelle Riley argues that the movie grapples with questions that Detroit itself has yet to fully face.
Director Bigelow and the stars of the film have been out in force promoting the movie. Bigelow chatted at length with the Free Press, as did John Boyega, who plays a security guard ensnared in the events at the Algiers. Here’s a compilation of all the video interviews the Free Press did on the red carpet at the film’s world premiere, along w ith the rundown on the film’s up-and-coming cast.
