Kings
Film
Review by Kam Williams
Period
Piece Features Halle Berry as Mom Frantically Searching for Kids
during Rodney King Riots
On
March 3, 1991, five LAPD officers were caught on camera beating an
unarmed black man who had led them on a high-speed chase instead of
pulling over as directed. That driver, Rodney King suffered a broken
ankle, a broken cheekbone, and numerous skull fractures and chipped
teeth in the assault by billy clubs.
A
year later, riots broke out all over South Central L.A. after a jury
acquitted all the officers involved in the arrest. By the time the
dust had settled a half-dozen days later, 63 people had died and
thousands of businesses had been looted and burned to the ground,
resulting in over a billion dollars in damages.
What
was it like in the midst of the chaos and conflagration? That was the
challenge accepted by Deniz Gamze Erguven in mounting Kings, a
surreal saga chronicling a foster-mom's frantic search for her
missing kids at the height of the Rodney King riots.
You may remember that the talented Turkish writer/director made a
spectacular debut a couple of years ago with Mustang, a
female-centric, coming-of-age adventure which landed an Oscar
nomination in the Best Foreign Film category. So, Kings is just Ms.
Erguven's second feature-length movie, and her first in English.
While
the ambitious offering earns an A for the convincing way in which it
recreates pandemonium, it only gets a C for coherency. For, the film
unfolds less like a traditional narrative than a series of
loosely-connected, impressionistic vignettes.
It
stars Academy Award-winner Halle Berry (for Monster's Ball) as Millie
Dunbar, an overworked single-mom with 8 foster kids. When civil
unrest breaks out, she embarks on a quest to round them up with the
help of her agoraphobic next-door neighbor, Obie, the last white guy
living in the 'hood. The hunky shut-in, played by Daniel "007"
Craig, summons up the courage to get out of the house for the sake of
Millie's missing brood.
The
plot thickens when the two are mistaken for looters by a gruff cop
(Kirk Baltz) too overwhelmed by the situation to listen to any
explanations. Millie and Obie end up handcuffed to each other which
might not be entirely bad, since the close quarters affords them an
opportunity to get better acquainted. So who knows, the old maid
might even find a man in the midst of the mayhem.
This
otherwise grim period piece arrives blessed with a retro soundtrack
featuring James Brown's African-American anthem "Say It Loud,
I'm Black & I'm Proud," Bill Withers' haunting, R&B
classic "City of the Angels," and Nina Simone's searing
rendition of "Ooh Child." Nevertheless, consider Kings a
harrowing descent into depravity that makes The Florida Project look
like Leave It to Beaver.
Rated R for violence, sexuality, nudity and pervasive profanity
Running time: 92 minutes
Production Studios: Bliss Media/ CG Cinema / Maven Pictures
Distributor: The Orchard Company
To see a trailer for Kings, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSjkrVUnLuA
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