Here is a link to the 'German' BLU RAY on Amazon UK (best price):
"…The Truth Will Set You Free…" - American Violet on BLU RAY
In order to get why the film "American Violet" is
such a big deal (especially in the USA) - a potted history of the deeply flawed
American Justice System is needed.
Cleverly used by Politicians and District Attorneys trying
to look 'tough on crime' during the 1990s and into the mid 2000s - Drug Task
Forces across America routinely employed military style raids with guns and
helicopters to terrorize the poor. Worse - the predominantly white hit squads of
the South also stood accused of selectively targeting people of colour. Huge
Federal sums would then get transferred to these Counties and the more
convictions they got – the more money they kept - so the 'plea bargain' system
was aggressively pursued.
A 'plea bargain' means that the accused 'accepts' a guilty
verdict and thereby bypasses court and a possible 15 to 20 year jail sentence.
This may seem like a foolish and morally suspect move to make (to admit guilt
when you’re not) - but if you’re poor or even low to middle income – the
alternatives are stark. You can have your passport removed, your job taken (and
never get another because of a criminal record), have your Aid To Families With
Dependent Children (AFDC) stopped, food stamps cut out and Medicare supplies
terminated. If you’re housed in the 'projects' (government assisted housing)
where large numbers of Black and Hispanic communities live in the bigger cities
– you can be made homeless. And those threats are dangled in front of you as an
enticement to settle. So it’s hardly surprising to find that a staggering 95%
of cases never get to trial (or are heard before a jury) because they are ‘plea
bargained’ beforehand.
And if you ‘do decide’ to fight a prosecution brought
against you by the Police or the FBI – you’re arrested, cuffed and jailed until
a trial date is set (up to 6 months wait). If the charges (trumped up or not)
are for loss of life, narcotics possession or distribution - bail can be set at
five and six-figure sums because you’re seen as a flight risk. These are sums
most can’t afford - and if they do borrow to meet it – you end up shackled to
crippling debt for years to come. But worst of all was the infamous ‘one
informant’ law that plagued so many cases in the 90’s and 00’s and opened them
to outright abuse. The police needed to supply only ‘one informant’ - and if that
person said you distributed drugs – then you did.
So it’s November 2000 in the town of Melody in Texas - and
as the movie opens we see the George W Bush Vs. Al Gore Presidential fiasco
being played out on a television set. A young black mother (Nicole Beharie as
Dee Roberts) is preparing breakfast for her 4 kids before they go to school
under the watchful eye of her live-in mother (Alfre Woodard as Alma Roberts).
Meanwhile uptown an all-white police force is tooling up with flak jackets,
rifles, undercover trucks and helicopters for a raid on the ‘project’ estate
where her family lives. This raid has been organised during election time by
the 'tough on crime' Southern White District Attorney of 9 years Calvin Beckett
who is seeking re-election (a fantastic show by Michael O’Keefe as and odious
and arrogant bigot).
On his hit list of names - now Dee Roberts suddenly finds
herself arrested in her humble waitress job and thrown in jail. She naively
thinks it’s for $782 worth of accumulated parking tickets. But Dee’s been
charged with distributing narcotics in a School Zone and named by a 'reliable'
black informant called Eddie Porter (a brilliant early part for Anthony Mackie
– the angel who helps the Matt Damon character in "The Adjustment Bureau").
Bail is set an impossible $70,000 and she is appointed a Public Defender David
Higgins who is a young appeaser all-too-willing to sell her life away to put
the thing to rest quickly. But both Higgins and District Attorney Beckett have
picked on the wrong mother…she determines to fight.
Into this legal race-maelstrom steps ACLU Attorney David
Cohen (a brilliant Tim Blake Nelson of "O Brother, Where Are Thou?"
fame) with his partner Byron Hill (a stunning role for Malcolm Barrett). Cohen
is a white man and Hill a black American – but both are determined to out the
entire corrupt system. They of course spot the case that can do it and in order
to strengthen their hand - Cohen approaches a local prosecutor Sam Conroy
(played perfectly by Will Patton) - an insider with knowledge of the
treacherous and notorious Texas court system. But Sam Conroy is not an idiot. He is being asked by Cohen
to go up against cops he lives with and the most powerful man in the State (the
District Attorney) -while the outsider Cohen can simply walk away. But knowing
what must be done – he agrees and along with a local preacher (Charles S Dutton
as Reverend Saunders) they file against 'the man'.
But nothing is ever going to be that easy. Tapes disappear,
written files are lost, Judges won’t set the trial in a fairer county to avoid
prejudice and the preliminary Deposition talks are limited to only 3 hours to
question the District Attorney. And Dee Roberts herself has custody battles
with her volatile ex husband (Xzibit as Darrell Hughes) and his crazy live-in
lady (Karimah Westbrook as Claudia). They slowly throw everything at her and
the prosecutors…
As you can imagine this is a film chock full of great parts
for Black and White actors of real calibre to get their teeth into. And there
is no shortage of stunning verbal exchanges as the staggering unfairness of the
American Justice system is ruthlessly exposed. And on it goes to an ending that
quite literally changed the law for the better…
Because the American BLU RAY on Image Entertainment is
REGION A LOCKED (won't play on our machines in the UK) - I bought the German
variant (quite cheaply too). It's defaulted to Full Screen Aspect and the
picture quality is beautiful throughout - spotless really. The Audio is in both
German and English DTS-HD 2.0 and you have to choose the English Language
because it’s defaulted to play its local tongue.
If I was to fault the movie it’s that Nicole Beharie is
ludicrously beautiful for the lead role – the lack of big names also gives it a
slight TV movie feel and the complete absence of ‘Extras” really lets the side
down. But apart from that "American Violet" is a moving film that
will make you think, reel and believe that even though American Democracy is
flawed – brave and admirable people will somehow bring the truth to the surface
– and it will stay there.
Superbly Scripted by BILL HANEY and Directed by TIM DISNEY - "American Violet" is a top movie - and well done to all involved…
