The 2015 death of Freddie Gray was one of the most infuriating moments in the long, ugly history of police brutality. While in transport to jail, Gray suffered a spinal cord injury and died in the hospital days later. The officers involved in the arrest and transport were charged, but ultimately not found liable for his death.
Outrage swept across Baltimore, a city with crippling poverty and high crime rates. Riots lasted for days, which led to the Maryland National Guard being deployed to the city and the police commissioner being fired. The coverage made national news, but much of it focused on the riots themselves, instead of the reason behind them.
Sonja Sohn, one of the stars of the essential Baltimore series The Wire, gives the people behind the protests and podiums a chance to present their voices clearly in the new documentary Baltimore Rising. She combines footage from right in the middle of the violent days after Gray's death and the officers' acquittal with interviews from locals from all walks of life. These include the new police commissioner, activists young and old, as well as cops and criminals.
Check out the powerful trailer below. The film debuts on HBO on November 20.
About Kip Mooney
Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about.
I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague.
Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work.
In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo.
I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.
