Went to see Blindspotting t’other night and it blew me away. The lead performances were incredible and with Shiva from The League starring alongside Newman, after Kozelek / Hedburg / Baruchel in Almost Famous, it ticked another actor combination off my bucket list.
Maybe spoilers from this point on?
I can’t remember the last time a film left me so simultaneously on-edge and in awe, whilst also boasting so many genuine laugh out loud moments. The fact that Jason Biggs is still the funniest go-to-white-guy-comedy-reference in the year of our Lord 2018 is nothing but a joy – Clark & Michael represent – and the split second shot of the Too Short / Third Eye Blind / Kehlani / back-to-back-to-back at the Fox Theatre is such a perfectly hilarious summation of the film’s ethos it’s damn close to touching genius.
I left the cinema with a distinct feeling of unease despite the film’s air quote happy air quote ending, which is probably the highest praise I can pay Estrada, Casal and Diggs. After spending 95 minutes hoping Collin and Miles stay alive and out of prison, it’s a relief to see them drive off in to the sunset, but the underlying fear of what lies around the corner for them is paramount – free and alive today does not mean free and alive tomorrow. And if that is not an allegory for the African-American experience in 2018, I don’t know what is.
It’s been a long ass while since I’ve seen a film and felt the immediate need to recommend it to everyone I meet, but Blindspotting is genuinely crucial cinema and I implore you to check it the hell out.
