Crown Heights (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Crown Heights |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2017 |
| length | 94 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Matt Ruskin |
| script | Matt Ruskin |
| production | Matt Ruskin, Nnamdi Asomugha , Natalie Galazka |
| music | Mark De Gli Antoni |
| camera | Ben Kutchins |
| cut |
Paul Greenhouse , Joe Hutshing |
| occupation | |
| |
Crown Heights is a biographical drama film directed by Matt Ruskin that premiered on January 23, 2017 at the Sundance Film Festival . The film tells the story of Colin Warner, an immigrant who lived in Crown Heights and who was innocently jailed for murder for 20 years after being misidentified by eyewitnesses. Ruskin wrote down this story and the script for the film.
action
Colin Warner, an immigrant from Trinidad , lives in Crown Heights , a neighborhood of New York District Brooklyn . On April 10, 1980, the sounds of a gunshot echo through the streets of Crown Heights. Colin is arrested and, despite defending himself against the allegations, is quickly tried and wrongly sentenced to a long prison term for murder. He knows that he did not commit this crime, for which he is still in jail, and that a decade-long struggle for justice begins, at the end of which Colin is to be released from prison, thanks in particular to his best friend Carl King who stood up for him all along and knew that Colin was only falsely accused of killing.
Biographical background
Crown Heights is a biopic storytelling the truth about Colin Warner's arrest and 20 years in prison.
On April 10, 1980, 16-year-old Mario Hamilton was shot in the back of the neck outside Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn. Thomas Charlemagne, a 14-year-old student, watched the crime and ran to Hamilton's 15-year-old brother Martell to tell him about it. Mario Hamilton was taken to hospital, where only his death could be determined. Thomas Charlemagne and Martell Hamilton were interviewed for six hours separately and with no other witnesses present at police headquarters. Charlemagne told police he saw 18-year-old Colin Warner, a black Trinidadian immigrant who lives in Crown Heights, get out of a car and shoot Mario Hamilton. Together with 15-year-old Norman Simmonds, who was behind the wheel of the car, he would then have left the crime scene. The following day, the police presented photos to Martell Hamilton, on which he could not recognize the perpetrator. He told the police that Norman Simmonds had threatened to kill his brother two days before the crime. A single police officer then showed him a photo of Colin Warner, which Martell Hamilton said he may have seen at the scene.
Thereupon Colin was arrested, charged on May 12, 1980 with murder and illicit gun possession and finally sentenced to life imprisonment with the prospect of probation after 15 years ("15 to life"). Norman Simmons was arrested in October 1980 and also charged with murder. In 2001, Colin Warner was finally released from prison after over 20 years at the age of 39.
production
It was directed by Matt Ruskin . Ruskin wrote down Colin Warner's story and also wrote the screenplay for the film. The eponymous neighborhood, Crown Heights, is a neighborhood in the Brooklyn district of New York known for the large population of Orthodox Jews who settled there in the course of the 20th century. The quarter is also significantly influenced by immigrants from the Caribbean.
The main role of Colin Warner was cast with Keith Stanfield . The film music was composed by Mark De Gli Antoni .
The film celebrated its world premiere on January 23, 2017 at the Sundance Film Festival , where it was presented in the US Dramatic Competition. There, Amazon Studios also secured the distribution rights to the film. As part of the Seattle International Film Festival was Crown Heights shown in May 2017 in the section of the New American Cinema. The film was released in selected US cinemas on August 18, 2017. The film was shown at the Zurich Film Festival at the beginning of October 2017 .
reception
Age rating
In the US, the MPAA gave the film an R rating for some violence, nude and sex scenes, which corresponds to a rating of 17 and over.
Reviews
The film was able to convince 77 percent of the critics documented by Rotten Tomatoes .
Andrew Barker of Variety writes that the film paints an impressive, if sometimes a little schematic, picture of which of the countless pitfalls and cracks in the US legal system an innocent person can easily slip into. Travis Hopson of Punch Drunk Critics emphasizes Keith Stanfield's soulful portrayal, and John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter writes that Matt Ruskin demands seriousness from his leading actor and that Stanfield is also sympathetic in his role. However, Ruskin shows little of what it must have required Colin Warner to survive the years in prison without losing his mind. Alonso Duralde from TheWrap also criticizes that you don't really get to know much about the characters apart from their roles.
Awards
African-American Film Critics Association Awards 2017
- Award for Best Independent Film
- Breakout Star Award ( Keith Stanfield )
- 9th place in the top 10 films
Artios Awards 2018
- Nomination in the Low Budget - Comedy or Drama category
Black Reel Awards 2018
- Nomination for Best Actor (Keith Stanfield)
- Nomination for Best Actress ( Natalie Paul )
- Nomination for Best Independent Film ( Matt Ruskin )
- Nomination for Best Young Actor ( Nnamdi Asomugha )
- Nomination for Best Young Actress (Natalie Paul)
Independent Spirit Awards 2018
- Nomination for Best Supporting Actor (Nnamdi Asomugha)
NAACP Image Awards 2018
- Nomination for Best Actress (Natalie Paul)
- Nomination for Best Supporting Actor (Nnamdi Asomugha)
- Nomination as a competition film in the US Dramatic Competition
- Received the Audience Award in the US Dramatic Competition
Web links
- Crown Heights in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Crown Heights in the program of the Zurich Film Festival
Individual evidence
- ↑ Colin Warner In: umich.edu. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
- ↑ https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=3718
- ↑ http://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/sundance-film-review-crown-heights-lakeith-stanfield-1201967163/
- ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/01/nyregion/murder-conviction-overturned-for-man-behind-bars-20-years.html
- ↑ Ramin Setoodeh and Brent Lang: Sundance: Amazon Buys Prison Drama 'Crown Heights' In: Variety, January 27, 2017.
- ↑ Film programs and competitions: New American Cinema ( Memento of the original from July 28, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: siff.net. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ↑ Programs 2017 In: zff.com. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
- ^ Crown Heights. In: Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ↑ Andrew Barker: Sundance Film Review: 'Crown Heights'. In: Variety , January 23, 2017.
- ↑ Travis Hopson: Sundance Review: 'Crown Heights' Starring Lakeith Stanfield And Nnamdi Asomugha. In: punchdrunkcritics.com, January 26, 2017.
- ^ John DeFore: 'Crown Heights': Film Review. Sundance 2017. In: The Hollywood Reporter , Jan 24, 2017.
- ^ Alonso Duralde: 'Crown Heights' Sundance Review: True Story of Injustice Lacks Dramatic Power. In: thewrap.com, January 23, 2017.
- ↑ African American Film Critics Association named 'Get Out' the Top Film of 2017 ( Memento of the original from December 26, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: squarespace.com. Retrieved January 7, 2018 (PDF; 545 kB)
- ↑ Patrick Hipes: Artios Awards Film Nominations Unveiled In: deadline.com, January 2, 2018.
- ↑ Get Out Dominates the Black Reel Awards In: blackreelawards.com, December 13, 2017.
- ↑ Hilary Lewis: 2018 Independent Spirit Award Nominations Revealed In: The Hollywood Reporter, November 21, 2017.
- ↑ 2018 NAACP Image Award Nominations In: rottentomatoes.com, November 20, 2017.
- ↑ Dominic Patten and Patrick Hipes: Sundance Film Festival Awards: 'I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore' & 'Dina' Take Grand Jury Prizes In: deadline.com, January 28, 2017.
