Film Review: The Tumbling Delicacy of Life in ‘Blindspotting’

CHICAGO – How can we understand the day-to-day factors of men and women who continued to be judged by their skin color, economic circumstances, difficult jobs or gender fluidity, if we are not any of those categories? Our art can help us, as given a great example in the new film “Blindspotting.”

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Actors Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs wrote the film and performed the lead roles, that of two men going though different transitions in their lives. It also puts a spin on the differences in racial components for law enforcement, and socio-economic factors in the dynamics of wealth infiltration (gentrification) in Oakland, California. This is a film of the now, vibrant and alive with current trends, alive with street poetry and contemporary language. Directed by Carlos López Estrada in his major film debut, at its centerpiece is the melting pot of the American Dream, drifting and dancing through each other. Welcome to here.

Collin (Daveed Diggs) is a convicted felon, who has three days left in his parole term (he has to report into a halfway house for a year). Trying to stay out of trouble is difficult when dealing with his best friend Miles (Rafael Casal), who has a loose attitude towards life and his destiny. While Collin is driving home to make his curfew, he witnesses the street execution of a fellow African American man by law enforcement.

This witnessing upends the last days of his parole, the dealings with his ex-girlfriend Val (Janina Gavankar) and his continuing grunt work with Miles for a moving company. This gets them involved in the heart of the economic changes in Oakland, now getting Silicon Valley money after years of neglect. There seems to be a path that will lead to confrontation, and Collin is skipping along that path.

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Blindspotting” [21]

Collin (Daveed Diggs) and Miles (Rafael Casal) of ‘Blindspotting’
Photo credit: Summit Entertainment

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Blindspotting” [21]