Black and Blue Parent Guide

Rookie police officer Alicia West (Naomie Harris) is in her third week with the New Orleans Police Department when she lets herself get roped into a double shift. Ignoring her temporary partner’s order to stay in the police car, the African-American officer witnesses the cold-blooded murder of a young man by another cop, Terry Malone (Frank Grillo). West’s body camera contains filmed evidence against Malone and, by implication, every NOPD officer entangled in his web of corruption, which makes her Target Number One in a blood-soaked cat-and-mouse game played out across New Orleans’ Ninth Ward.

Black and Blue is a more thoughtful film than I expected. Early on, West’s partner, Kevin Jennings (Reid Scott), tells her that she’s going to have to pick sides. Black or blue? African-American or cop? To its credit, the script moves beyond simple racial conflict, although there’s plenty of that and the racism of the white police officers is not glossed over. But there is so much violence - black on black and cop on cop - that the movie’s title might just refer to the bruised, beaten and bloody corpses that pile up throughout the movie’s nearly two hour runtime. West herself insists that there is no false dichotomy between her two identities – black woman and police officer – and she makes a passionate plea for seeing people just as people struggling to make the best of their lives.

Alicia West’s character, performed with understated grit by Naomie Harris, is the best reason to watch this movie. Down-to-earth, determined, filled with raw courage and unbreakable integrity, she is the living embodiment of the kind of positive messages parents want their teens to absorb from media. She knows that her body camera makes her a target. And she knows that sharing the footage will mark her as a snitch and possibly destroy her career. Nevertheless, her sense of duty and morality will not allow her to make any other choice. Thankfully, Harris’s fine portrayal of Alicia West is matched by the rest of the cast. Frank Grillo plays Malone with a slightly unhinged menace and Tyrese Gibson gives Mouse Jackson a weary dignity. The able performances are well supported by an ominous, percussive soundtrack that ratchets up the almost unbearable tension to an even higher level. This is not a movie anyone is going to sleep through.

The positive messages of Black and Blue are counterbalanced by some significant content issues, including close to four dozen profanities and extensive violence. There are near-constant gun battles and frequent scenes of punching, kicking, choking, and body-slamming. I lost count of the number of dead bodies somewhere in the early double digits. Given the storyline, however, both the language and violence are pretty accurate, and even somewhat sanitized. Real automatic weapons definitely make a bloodier mess than anything seen in this film.

Given the violence, this is not a movie for kids or most teens. But adults and older teens who like cop shows and enjoy discussing issues of criminal justice, race, and ethics will appreciate this tense, thoughtful drama and the unflinching integrity at its heart.