Stop

Starring: Keishawn Butler, Joshua Rivera, Brian Pollock, J.W. Cortes
Directed by: Reinaldo Marcus Green
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Short, Drama
Length: 9 minutes
2015

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A young man is stopped by the police on his way home from baseball practice.

Review:

Tim: Reinaldo Marcus Green's Stop is a powerful short film. It depicts an event that happens all too frequently in America. A young black man walking home is stopped by the police, for no reason. He's not harming anybody, not posing a threat, not suspicious for any reason (other than the color of his skin and the racism of the officers). This movie vividly depicts what that horrible experience is like. For that reason, the movie stays with you. You can't quite shake how the events here could have turned out very different, how one moment can radically shape (or end) a life.

Interestingly, I watched this movie after seeing Green's feature film directorial debut, Monsters and Men. I thought that was a decent movie with glimmers of brilliance. Perhaps the most powerful sequence in that film is what is depicted here. It was interesting to see how Green took this short movie and integrated into his feature film. So, when I watched Stop, I'd just seen the more polished version in that movie. However, that didn't take anything away from this short. Seeing this earlier, more raw version just further cemented the story and the reality of those events in my mind. As a white male, it's difficult (and potentially impossible) for me to grasp the reality of so many thousands of black men in this country. I've never faced prejudice from the police. I've never felt that fear, that my life is in someone else's hands, and that someone potentially hates me for the color of my skin. This movie reminded me of that reality. Green does a fantastic job of telling this story, as ugly and uncomfortable as it is to watch.

One of the big takeaways from this film is that for many people in this country, their lives are balanced on the edge of a knife. It can take so little to potentially wreck or end a life. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Wearing the wrong hoodie. Walking too fast, or too slow. Things that shouldn't matter, that shouldn't determine the fate of someone's existence. That might be true for all of us, but it's tragically more true for many disenfranchised individuals in this country.

I'm a big fan of this short. I would certainly recommend it to anyone. I watched this in 2020, when events like this continue to happen with frequency, even after a summer of nationwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism. It's a powerful story and one that all Americans would do well to keep at the front of their minds.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- N/A



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Monsters and Men