USA TODAY International Edition
Bigelow’s ‘ Detroit’ opens Motor City’s old wounds
Actors hope the film will cause ‘ impactful social change’
DETROIT On a red carpet that was a crowded collision of media and movie stars, a smiling director Kathryn Bigelow expressed her gratitude for the reaction in Detroit to Detroit.
“It’s a really emotional and extremely profound outpouring of support and appreciation for this movie,” said the Oscar- winning director at the world premiere for the dramatization of the 1967 Algiers Motel killings, which is being praised in initial reviews for its searing intensity.
Bigelow seemed moved as she tried to sum up her feelings. “I really just want to embrace every person in Detroit.”
About 2,200 people poured into the Fox Theatre Tuesday for the screening, including stars from the film’s large ensemble cast, among them John Boyega and Anthony Mackie, and such Detroit luminaries as Motown singing legend Martha Reeves, Police Chief James Craig and former top cop Isaiah McKinnon.
It was a night to celebrate the good response the movie has been earning. ( Early reviews are 100% positive on aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes.) But it also was a red- carpet opportunity for serious talk about past and present racial injustice. Those involved in the project stressed that they hope good can come from revisiting such a painful incident.
“I’m so proud of the fact that we have a movie that we really think has a potential to cause some impactful social change,” said Will Poulter, who plays a Detroit cop central to the tragedy.
Detroit scholar Michael Eric Dyson introduced Bigelow as a woman of “extraordinary insight, genius and courage,” and connected the events of 50 years ago to social concerns of today, particularly the treatment of African Americans by police.
Larry Reed and Julie Delaney, who are played by Algee Smith and Hannah Murray, respectively, were also in attendance. Reed and Delaney survived the law enforcement raid at the Algiers that left three African- American teens dead and several other people beaten and brutalized.
The premiere drew national media attention. But this was a night for Detroit, where the ac- tors and filmmakers have spent several days meeting with civic groups — and giving back to a community that has welcomed and impressed them.
The film received several rounds of applause. “I thought it was wonderful,” said Detroit City Council member Janeé Ayers.
For several people who left midway through the screening, however, the subject matter was just too painful.
“I couldn’t stand it, the violence. It was unbearable for me,” said Marian Stephens, 83, of Detroit, who lived through the five days of unrest in the city. “I sort of knew I wouldn’t be able to watch it, but I wanted to try. ... What I saw of it ( in real life) was enough for me.”
The movie arrives in theaters Friday in New York, Detroit and Los Angeles, and expands nationwide Aug. 4.