burnett’s big studio debut that really solidified my understanding of just how masterful a filmmaker he is. this must be one of the best police procedurals i have ever seen. critical, but in a way that is wholly unlike the many, many run-of-the-mill “cops are bad” films that are made each year. it continues burnett’s very unique and particular strategy of critique from within, which i’ve written about in my reviews of his previous films…but i can’t help but be amazed that he was able to transpose his approach into a studio film, into a narrative that addresses issues of systemic racism far more explicitly than any of his previous films, giving a whole new context to his critique. the apparent apoliticism of burnett’s oeuvre really comes out when you juxtapose his films with those of his peers: i watched this in a double feature with Bush Mama, which along with Bless Their Little Hearts, is very explicit in its critique of the socio-economic conditions faced by black people in the united states. the conflict in burnett’s films is generally the product of inter-personal and inter-generational dynamics (most often revolving around a family unit), rather than about persecution by the police (Bush Mama) or economic inequality (Bless Their Little Hearts). burnett’s films take place in a (middle-class) oasis, which is to my mind a very bold and unique approach to creating a “new black aesthetics” (the stated goal of the LA Rebellion). i compared it to the socialist realist aesthetic of prefiguring the social conditions one wants to see; it definitely reminds me of The Undercommons, where moten & harney talk about an interior / exterior dynamic.
anyway what i wanted to say is that burnett is, kind of amazingly, able to transplant his approach into a studio context; and even in a film that deals more explicitly with the structures of white supremacy (police) than his previous films, he still approaches the subject obliquely and from within. obviously the two main leads, a black man and a white woman, are both sheriffs. outsiders, but nonetheless part of the institution that is being critically represented. both make repeated references to how good a job it is, and how they are motivated primarily by money. neither of them are really committed to the institution, and JJ only becomes committed to exposing its corruption after he becomes complicit in it. all in all, a masterful film.