Below is my review on Instagram
#WhenTheySeeUs Review: I don’t know what to say. It was excellent, but to say I “enjoyed it” is a total misnomer. This film, presented as a Four (4) Part Limited Series, was IMPACTFUL. From the moment the arrests happen you are WITH these five boys. And that’s WTF they were—BOYS! Young males of other races are “snips and snails and puppy dog tails”, but young males of color are considered more mature than they are even when even accused of a crime without proof—considered monsters. WTSU makes you FEEL what these boys are feeling. This film takes a HARD, UNFLINCHING look at what these boys and eventual men went through in the legal system and didn’t sugarcoat shit! I’ve done MY OWN research on the so-called “Central Park Five” before I even saw this and AVA DUVERNAY et al, her cast and crew NAILED their traumatic journey. And that shit WAS traumatic. For real I was like “Shit! Is anything GOOD gonna happen in this film? Damn sis! Can I breathe?” Not really and I think that was the intent. Oh you’re gonna feel this shit. As usual I gotta talk about the filmmaking. Starting with Director and Co-Writer AVA DUVERNAY, she and the other credited writers JULIAN BREECE, ROBIN SWICORD, ATTICA LOCKE and MICHAEL STARRBURY as stated, took you THERE! Cinematographer extraoidinarre BRADFORD YOUNG shot the hell out of it with lots of flair and oft times gourgeous shots. The acting, wow the acting. WOW the acting. The five young men and four older men (one played both versions) did tremendous jobs as did the actors that played their family members. I’m running out of space here, but I’ll will list them on Twitter. Suffice it to say, bravo.👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 I binged watched all four parts in one sitting (a rarity for me) and •LIVE•TWEETED• the whole thing so a lot of the cast and crew are already mentioned. (I’ll post the thread🧵 at the Link in my BIO) Lastly, I highly recommend WHEN THEY SEE US, but ⚠️Caution⚠️ and I can’t state enough, YOU WILL FEEL. You will. Every.moment. 100%
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Dankwa Brooks (@dankwa) on
My LIVE TWEETS of the Limited Series in a Twitter thread linked below
