Director: Terrance Tykeem
Writer: Terrance Tykeem (Screenplay)
Starring: Vivica A Fox, Michael Pare, Robert LaSardo, Quinton Aaron, Joseph R Gannascoli, Claude Jordan, Jamol Manigault
Plot: This powerful film addresses the unarmed police shooting in America thru the eye’s of 2-young boys, one of whom had to give his life in order for change to even be considered.
Tagline – This is a film that will do more than any other before it to humanize young black boys, while shining a bright light on an on going problem in America.
Runtime: 1 Hour 32 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Brave Message
Story: Jason’s Letter starts as we head to a city in Delaware, the city has been having an ever-increasing number of black men and children being killed by the cops, the latest killing has bought City Hall to look for a solution, Sammi Brooks (Fox) is part of a city meeting, which has teenager Jason McKey (Manigault) has come up with a letter which he believes could end the killing problem.
As the Principal of the school is trying to figure out how to control the bad behavior by bringing the parents into detention to see how their children act, we get to see how the white cops treat the black residents and how one council meeting is looking to bring a stop to the problems in the neighbourhood.
Thoughts on Jason’s Letter
Characters – Jason McKey is the teenager that has seen his friends killed by the police and has come up with a letter/petition to hopefully bring an end to the heartache families would be feeling, his vision could bring a change to the way the country is run and his innocent views reflect the culture that won’t be budged. Sammi Brooks works in city hall, she has been working on the problems, she is the connection that will get Jason to speak to the council. We get to meet a lot of characters in this film, parents of victims, council members and we get the generic push against the white police.
Performances – Jamol Manigault is good in the leading role of the film, he keeps the vision his character wants to feel innocent like we needed it to be. Vivica A Fox is the biggest name of the film at gets to give a good performance in the role. We do have good performances throughout the film, through the many different performers.
Story – This story looks to find a solution for the police brutality being used on the black people in America focusing on the most innocent victims, the children. We follow the town who have been searching for a solution, which one of their own children might have come to a big, ambitious solution too. This is also one of the hardest stories to discuss without getting political, this does have the big message that needs to be addressed, the idea is big, but there are clearly certain points that paint people in one light only. The only issues with the story that should have been addressed is that not all white police officers are bad.
Settings – The film is set in a minority black, Hispanic and Asian neighbourhood almost running in fear of the number of deaths in the neighbourhood.
Scene of the Movie – The Letter Reading.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It does have a brave message, though one sided.
Final Thoughts – This is a film is a big important message about a real problem going on in America, it does show a solution which could realistically work too.
Overall: Important and brave message.
Rating
