Review of The Interrupters (2011) by Marco P — 23 Nov 2012

I had the great pleasure of seeing this film recently at a "Friends of the Maryland Film Festival" screening, where the director, Steve James, was present for a post Q&A. I had previously missed it at the 2011 Maryland Film Festival, so it was great to finally catch it. James, whose previous work includes "Hoop Dreams" and "Stevie," is the kind of documentary filmmaker who does his research and spends the needed time with his subjects to guarantee that they will ignore him as much as possible. While no film crew, no matter how small, can guarantee that its presence will not affect the behavior of their subjects, in James's case, the actions of the people being filmed feel real and unadulterated, and we, the audience, become completely immersed in the story as a result.

The result is a powerful movie about a group of brave and motivated souls trying to rescue violence-plagued communities in Chicago from their ongoing cycle of tragedy. These "violence interrupters," as they are called, step in and start dialoguing with people who have, themselves, been subject to some kind of injury, be it a beating, a robbery, or a family member/friend who has been killed. In this way, they try to force a moment of reflection, or pause, that just might prevent a retaliatory act of violence. These amazing activists are all, themselves, former gang members and criminals who have done jail time and emerged from their pasts with a desire to better the world.

We watch as the three main interrupter subjects - Ameena Matthews, Cobe Williams and Eddie Bocanegra - operate under the direction of Tio Hardiman, who runs CeaseFire (now known as Cure Violence), the organization which employs them, and who is, himself, a former gang member. Navigating different Chicago neighborhoods, each painstakingly labors to save people from their own (very human) desire to exact retribution on others who have done them wrong. I was amazed, watching, at the amount of personal one-on-one time these courageous folk were willing to spend to reach out and (maybe) prevent violence. It's heartbreaking work, and only they could do it, since only they have the credibility in these neighborhoods to lead these discussions. Whatever violence or crime Ameena, Cobe, Eddie, Tio and others committed in the past (and given the environments in which they came of age, it's hard to blame them), they have more than made up for it with the work they are doing now. These are the kinds of people who deserve a Noble Peace Prize.

My kudos to James and his crew for making yet another riveting and moving film. In fact, the film is so powerful that it has even led Rahm Emanuel to allocate funding for CeaseFire, in spite of the reservations that some police officers have about working with ex-felons. The statistics apparently validate the effectiveness of this program, as Gregg Bernstein, Baltimore State's Attorney, told us at the screening (since he was the one leading the Q&A). I'm sure it's not a cure-all, and the program doesn't address the roots of crime (which isn't its purpose), but anything that prevents further violence is a net positive, as far as I'm concerned. So see the film, if you can, and spread the word.