Review of Blindspotting (2018) by The3Academysins — 18 Nov 2019

Blindspotting is an incredibly well made movie that explores the issue of identity. Somehow, in its one hour and thirty six minute runtime, it covers almost every aspect of identity. It explores racial identity and financial identity, sure, but the crux of the story is the conflict between how we identify ourselves versus how other people identify us.

I was absolutely impressed by this film. Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal wrote and starred in this movie together. They are an incredible team. Daveed Digg's character Collin struggles with whether to report an act of police brutality, or keep it quiet in order to finish his parole. He strongly identifies himself as someone who "does the right thing" but he realizes that it would be better for him to keep his mouth shut and let a police killing go unpunished. This conflict is further compounded that he is unable to shake the perception others have of him as a violent felon. Miles, Rafael Casal's character, struggles with his identity as someone who grew up in the hood of Oakland, but now that the area is being gentrified, he feels that his struggles and experiences are being erased. This causes him to act out aggressively, which damages how other people see him.

This movie has a lot of laughs dispersed between intense scenes. There's a lot of really well choreographed violence and tension in addition to the philosophical script. The soundtrack is great. The cinematography is engaging, and the direction is immersive. My one big complaint with Blindspotting is that the climax in the last 12 minutes of the movie feels unearned. Other than that, this is a really good movie.