PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ANU LEARNING COMMUNITIES – HISTORY

On July 23, 1967, an unlicensed club in Detroit was raided by the police who shut the party down. This triggered a mob to start throwing rocks at police cars, looting shops and setting fire to buildings. Things really went wrong when a blank gunshot was misinterpreted as a sniper attack, which led to a police manhunt to find the shooter – and the tragic events that followed.

Depicting an entire city in riot in a film is no easy task, but leave it to acclaimed director Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty, The Hurt Locker) to deliver a magnificent, thrillingly tense film. Especially one that concerns events that are not only historically significant, but also still very relevant in the USA today.

Bigelow’s direction of Detroit is excellent and the acting is superb, with the three lead actors – Will Poulter, John Boyega and Algee Smith – particularly terrific. While Detroit does contain violent scenes, which at times can be intense and very realistic, it is an important film that deserves to be seen.