When They See Us (4 Eps)
Ava DuVernay has proven herself as a powerful director who always brings her strong voice and message to every project she works on. Even with projects that might not have connected to mainstream audiences in the most positive way like A Wrinkle In Time, clearly, have an important message and meaning behind them. This was my first time hearing the story of the Central Park 5 but the media reaction coming out of this series release it was clear that this story was a big deal to a lot of people and knowing that this was a story DuVernay felt the need to tackle it I immediately grew interested. What I got really impressed me, this is a tragic and brutal telling of a disgusting event. This is an angry piece of media that wants us to know the pain this event caused and how even as the story leaves the tabloids the suffering and pain from it continues.
In case you are like me and are not aware of this story, the basic run-through is that in 1989 a young woman jogger was found in critical condition raped and beaten within an inch of her life in Central Park. This is the same night a group of mainly young African American men was hanging out also at the park. Prosecutors found 5 of these young teenagers and after hours of interrogation and convincing, they finally admitted to the crime. Now none of these boys had the same story and there were tons of false information in their statements but nonetheless, even on top of not having any physical evidence, prosecutors were sure these boys were guilty. The story went mainstream and despite clear issues with the case as a whole the boys were sentenced as guilty and went to prison as rapists. Finally years later the truth came out that they were innocent and they were released, but that came after years of them being jailed in horrible conditions that left a permanent scar on them and their families.
This is a really interesting approach for DuVernay to take that I ended up really liking. Sure we go through the court case and the actual interrogation which is really effective and brutal but we also spend a lot of time in prison with these boys. This really deep dives into the lasting effects of this situation and the consequences it had on these boys. Sure the news stopped reporting on this situation and the world moved on, but these kids and their families didn't. Even after they are proven innocent it doesn't take away the horrors they had to face. Focusing on these consequences and prolonged horrors add a new layer to the frustration and disgust the audience takes away from the situation. This is not a part of the narrative that is often overlooked and the fact that it is one of the main focuses of this series not only feels unique but also really effective. This show is an emotional gut-punch that doesn't stop making you feel sick to your stomach from start to finish, which is only a testament to how well made it is.
This is a really interesting approach for DuVernay to take that I ended up really liking. Sure we go through the court case and the actual interrogation which is really effective and brutal but we also spend a lot of time in prison with these boys. This really deep dives into the lasting effects of this situation and the consequences it had on these boys. Sure the news stopped reporting on this situation and the world moved on, but these kids and their families didn't. Even after they are proven innocent it doesn't take away the horrors they had to face. Focusing on these consequences and prolonged horrors add a new layer to the frustration and disgust the audience takes away from the situation. This is not a part of the narrative that is often overlooked and the fact that it is one of the main focuses of this series not only feels unique but also really effective. This show is an emotional gut-punch that doesn't stop making you feel sick to your stomach from start to finish, which is only a testament to how well made it is.
The acting is also a huge highlight of the series. The actors featured here are not the biggest names and plenty are young actors so I really didn't know what to expect, yet they blew me away. I honestly think there are multiple career-making performances here as these kids get so into their roles and emotions. Jharrel Jerome was impressive in Moonlight but here he is on another level. The amount of sheer emotion he is able to bring as he transforms into Korey Wise is just incredible. It's not even the big moments that he has that make him stand out to me though, it's the small things. He has so many small mannerisms and small things he does as he speaks that so easily could have been ignored or lost in a less talented performance. The same goes for actors like Asante Blackk and Marquis Rodriguez who comes off as such tragic characters. Compared to Jharrel both have much quieter performances that hit the audience in a completely different way but with all the same impact. Felicity Huffman also deserves quite a bit of praise with her portrayal of Linda Fairstein. She is so slimy and cunning, she becomes a great villain that is so blinded by her clear racism and moral issues that the actual truth becomes irrelevant as she follows her own flawed narrative. If there was one thing that this series could improve on it would be some of the overall layout and focus that it has. Following 5 individual stories while jumping around to different times of their lives this series is bound to get messy and no matter how impactful the moments are throughout the show you can't help but get lost at some points. I also think especially in the last few episodes that it tries to throw in too much. Bits on Donald Trump and even transphobia make brief appearances that really go nowhere and feel unneeded, sure they are based on what really happened but if you're not going to properly explore them then I don't see why you need to include them at all.
Still though overall I have to recommend When They See Us to everyone. Sure it's far from fun or enjoyable watch but Ava DuVernay has created an important emotional powerhouse of a show that not only finally writes the real story of these innocent teens condemned to a life of fear and tragedy who will never get their childhoods or old lives truly back but it also is an important look at the consequences people face. These were not the only 5 people who were wrongly locked up due to racism and even today innocent people of color are being shot for no good reason. This is not just a one and done story, it's continuing even today and I hope shows like this are able to show just how serious even non-lethal cases of injustice can be.