Director: Deon Taylor
Writer: Peter A Dowling (Screenplay)
Starring: Naomie Harris, Tyrese Gibson, Frank Grillo, Mike Colter, Reid Scott, Beau Knapp, Nafessa Williams
Plot: A rookie New Orleans police officer is forced to balance her identity as a black woman after she witnesses two corrupt cops committing murder.
Tagline – The truth made her a target.
Runtime: 1 Hour 48 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Black and Blue starts when returning to her home town of New Orleans rookie cop Alicia (Harris) learns how much has changed since she has left, with the residents distaining any police figure no matter of colour, seeing them all as corrupt blue.
Alicia decides to help her new partner out by taking a night shift, which sees her witness detective Terry Malone (Grillo) murder a man, leading to her needing to go on the run, hoping her old contacts Mouse (Gibson) and over residents to help her prove the corruption in the neighbourhood.
Thoughts on Black and Blue
Characters & Performances – Alicia West was born and raised in New Orleans and former army ranger left in shock with how the cops treat her as a civilian and even more shocked to learn that the residents, including her former friends see the cops. Alicia doesn’t know how to handle this new environment, which is filled with corrupt cops, but after witnessing a murder by cops, she must go on the run with not knowing who she can trust with cops and gangster hunting her down. Naomie Harris shines in the physical role, where she is the only level-headed character in the film. Mouse is the local shop assistant, he knew Alicia from when they were young and ends up reluctantly helping her, knowing she could be the first honest cop the area has had in years. Tyrese Gibson does well in this role, showing he is more than just a wise-cracking joke telling character we have gotten used to in the Fast and Furious franchise. Terry Malone is a NARC officer that has been looking to clean up the deals he has made, taking out the drug dealers he has worked with. He is using his years of connections to track Alicia to cover up for the mistake he has created. Frank Grillo has become one of the best go to actors for a corrupt cop figure and this shows us why, the support characters include the numerous other cops that Alicia doesn’t know who she can trust, who are hunting her down, as well as the numerous gangster that get tricked into thinking Alicia was behind the murder on one of their own.
Story – The story here follows a rookie cop that witnesses a police murder and must go on the wrong from both the cops and the gangster that are hunting her down to expose the truth. This is a story that will highlight over just a couple of years that police resident’s relationship has hit a new high for tension, where the corruption of one will take full advantage of the other. We see how one cop will give everything to make a different no matter what it takes, the number of enemies they make, knowing it is the right thing that could help rebuild the bridges. This is an important story which will help show what could change things in the future to solve the problems in the police corruption.
Themes – Black and Blue is a crime thriller that will give us action that follows a cop needing to be on the run, staying ahead of the threat heading her way to expose the truth. The film uses the New Orleans settings to show how the divide between the people in the city have different reactions in police nature.
Black Blue is an eye-opening look at how one cop will do anything to expose the truth of police corruption.
