A year in the life of a city grappling with urban violence.
Amidst the pain and despair of the world it portrays, The Interrupters offers the possibility of hope and even redemption.
The result is knuckle-biting reportage, incisive on both the causes and consequences of violence. If The Wire’s urban tapestries were real, they might look like this.
A welcome return from Hoop Dream director Steve James. Even at just shy of three hours, the format strains to accommodate such a complex, involving true-life story, but it makes a seriously impressive attempt.
A titanic piece of documentary filmmaking destined to have a real impact.
This documentary gives a clear and powerful picture of the desperate sadness that arises from this violence: the funerals, the flowers, the memorial T-shirts.
A sharper sense of structure might have produced a masterpiece, but it’s still vital, upsetting, and full of wary hope.
Compelling.
The film, for all its worth, feels too small for its chaotic subject.
It feels like a cop-out compared with the more political Hoop Dreams, but The Interrupters is still a deeply moving documentary.
It's an encouraging film, though its overall context in an America 50 years after the election of Jack Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson is depressing.
Although not an original concept, the film carries enough gravity to make compelling and often distressing viewing.
Meet Chicago's Interrupters...
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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