Originality seems to be in short supply right now. Eight of the top-10 movies at the box office are sequels (one of which I am going to see to tonight), including the entire top-6. While franchise fatigue doesn’t appear to be affecting the consumer market, it’s always refreshing to see new filmmakers and new ideas…the kind of stuff that is going to push the craft forward as an art form, rather than just cash in on the obvious. Blindspotting is one of those increasingly rare films. A remarkably thoughtful, and equally as artful, piece of contemporary cinema that should have everyone’s attention.
The story centers around a pair of lifelong friends who work as movers at the vanguard of a swiftly changing Oakland. Collin, an ex-con, is trying to make it the final three days of his parole so he can have a fresh start and his best friend, Miles, is struggling to find his own identity amid a changing landscape while raising a child in a mixed race household. When Collin witnesses the police shooting of an unarmed African American during a foot pursuit, the disparity in both their friendship and identities are brought to the forefront.
Real life friends Daveed Diggs (Collin) and Rafael Casal (Miles) co-wrote and starred in Carlos López Estrada’s feature film directorial debut. This was kind of the perfect storm of young, hungry and talented filmmakers coming together to collaborate…imagine Crash meets Hamilton and you’re sort of in the neighborhood. The comparisons to Hamilton were immediate and inevitable, but going in, I had no idea that Diggs was part of the original cast who won a Grammy for the soundtrack as part of the ensemble (surprisingly, that’s not even part of the advertising)…hindsight is 20/20. That said, the choice to incorporate that spoken-word style delivery was an excellent narrative choice. Those moments command attention and active listening, it’s not a passive experience for the audience. At least, it shouldn’t be. The rest of the screenplay is filled with rich, poignant and actually funny dialogue that’s very obviously woven with finely grained authenticity. They even contributed to the soundtrack with the track Not A Game.
While their contributions behind the camera were already substantial, the two of them still had to carry the movie as the main performers and they worked wonderfully off of one another. Diggs’ experience certainly lent itself to the character, a narrator of sorts, but it’s hard to deny that it was Casal that stole the show. He brought a certain charisma to Miles that jumped off the screen. Even though much of the plot is directed at the substance of their friendship, or lack thereof at times, watching them together is definitely the most enjoyable element of the film. Estrada was smart not to get in the way of that relationship and even nurtured it on camera, which can sometimes be a tall order even for a seasoned director. Bending the focus of external events through the personal prism of these two young men cultivated a uniquely malleable film that could be whatever it needed to be…whatever it wanted to be…in any given moment. These three young men did a truly remarkable job and deserve all the credit in the world despite the underwhelming box office performance. For now, Rafael Casal needs to be in the discussion for Best Supporting Actor. He was that good. Estrada came out of the gates with a wildly entertaining and enjoyable freshman effort that should absolutely garner him some Best Director attention.
Although this wasn’t a big studio production, evidenced by the relative lack of star power, the quality didn’t take a serious hit. In fact, the lack of studio oversight actually allowed the actors and filmmakers to enrich the project with themselves, resulting in a much more tactile, down-to-earth presentation. Robby Baumgartner was another one of these guys who had been working around the industry for a while, but never really had that breakthrough. His work as director of photography on the most recent Blair Witch actually had some strong elements, but the substance of that film wasn’t strong enough to allow the cinematography to stand out in any meaningful way. Here, the story is at the forefront and Baumgartner captured the imagery in a way that felt very organic. I don’t think it was was the kind of effort that is going to result in any awards, but there were some very good stylistic choices which elevated the film as a whole. The soundtrack is fantastic as well, even if your not into Bay Area hip-hop, the sound matches the visual storytelling in a way that’s undeniably and iconically Oakland.
I basically watch as many movies as possible (until the wheels inevitably come off Movie Pass completely and I have to regroup), so this one has been on my radar for a while. Even though the promotional material was a flattering sales pitch, and there was praise and buzz about the project, I was completely blown away, not just by the quality and creativity, but by the compassion and heart of the final product. There was quite a lot packed into the 95-minute runtime. This was a very robust film thematically with a lot to unpack, but nothing is disguised. It’s very raw, very open and accessible if you will allow yourself that experience. It should carry some crossover appeal although the box office receipts have been less than impressive. It did pretty well in limited release, and had a reasonably good debut in wide release but has struggled to gain momentum after that. Typically, the majority of films nominated during awards season go mostly unseen until after the accolades pile up, so the box office totals usually aren’t indicative of quality. I’m sure there will plenty of challengers as the fall rolls around, but Blindspotting is one of the best films this year…easily. It may be the Best Picture so far this year.
Recommendation: Do yourself a favor and go see this movie. It’s going to be harder to find moving into its third week, but it’s absolutely worth seeking out. The R-rating is certainly more of a soft R for language and situations, rather than gratuitous nudity and violence. It’s the kind of movie that could be very good for a family to see together, but it’s too heavy contextually for young children. Go in open minded and it’ll be hard to not get something out of it.