Directed by Deon Taylor Black and Blue tells the story of a female cop and her quest for justice.  On a routine ride along with a seasoned cop, Alicia West (played by Naomi Harris) witnesses a fellow officer murder three local drug dealer execution-style. This movie places us on the edge of our seats as we make our way through Alicia’s high energy journey to the truth.

If I’m being 100% honest I went into the movie was some reservation. I thought this movie was going to focus on the fact that a black person was killed by the cops and have heavy-handed black lives matter motif. I have never seen any of Dion Taylor’s movies and, to be honest, the only one I could even recall was Intruder and I did not want to see that at all. 

Black and Blue to me was a really good movie.  I enjoyed that it focused on the issues of police corruption without playing too heavy to one specific audience. My favorite thing about the entire movie though was that the female lead was a strong, intelligent, and dedicated woman. A lot of times black women in lead roles are either sub-human or stereotypical. I love that Alicia was real. She wasn’t anyone I inspired to be or someone that I didn’t want to associate with, she felt like someone I knew. 

The movie was very introspective in its portrayal of the culture, its relationship with the police, and loyalty.  It did such a great job of showing the complexities and layers that make up a lot of the relationships in the movie.  I appreciated that thought the film sought to show us that justice is always the answer it never felt vengeful. They gave us all of the info and examples we needed to come to the same conclusion as the protagonist without being forced into it. 

Though there weren’t many things that I didn’t like about the movie there were a few. One of the main ones was Tyrese’s acting. I know a lot of people are going to disagree with me on this but I’ve definitely seen him give much stronger performances. His acting just seemed really force a novice to me. It was disappointing and boring.

I won’t spoil anything but the ending was also a bit of a letdown. For all of the excitement and drama that we are involved in throughout the film the end just felt a little antiquated. They paid homage to some major movies which was great, however, they didn’t live up to those epic scenes. 

Overall I really liked the film. I honestly probably wouldn’t have seen it if it wasn’t for the International Black Film Festival, but I’m so thankful I had the opportunity. The budget was there, the scrip was well done, the casting was great, and we got to see black people play the spectrum as far as roles.

As far as Deon Taylor goes, he’s one of the realest people I’ve ever met in my whole life. He dropped so many gems about navigating your way as a creative and staying true to your talents. He answered every question that was asked so genuinely and even stayed late to speak with more people after the screening. He definitely got my head right to take on 2020 in a major way.

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