"The Interrupters" a Nuanced, Compelling Treatment of Urban Violence

 "The Interrupters" a Nuanced, Compelling Treatment of Urban Violence

By Igor Studenkov - Senior Staff Writer

In 2004, Tio Hardiman, head of the Illinois chapter of CeaseFire, a Chicago-based anti-violence initiative, developed the Violence Interrupters Program. The CeaseFire initiative treats violence as a disease and in order to stop the violence it tries to address the factors that cause it.

The Interrupters, a new documentary directed by Steve James and Alex Kotlowitz, uses reformed criminals from some of Chicago's most violence-plagued communities to try to resolve conflicts before they escalate into full-blown violence. The documentary follows three such individuals (Cole Williams, Eddie Bocanegra and Ameena Matthews) for an entire year.

Williams spent much of his adult life in prison. His family helped him find stability and move past the trauma that he suffered at a young age when his father was murdered. Throughout the film, Williams uses a combination of humor and tough love to keep his charges on a peaceful path. He was also so dedicated to the program that he continued to work even when Cease Fire funding cuts temporarily cost him his salary.

Bocanegra is haunted by a murder he committed when he was 17. He spends much of the documentary working with children from the Little Village neighborhood, trying to help them cope with violence and avoid his mistakes. But the most memorable Interrupter in the documentary is Ameena Matthews, daughter of Jeff Fort, one of the most notorious gangsters in Chicago history. After spending her younger years as a ranking member of her father's gang, Matthews broke away and found solace in her family and the Muslim faith. Her friends and co-workers describe her as fearless and the documentary shows exactly what they mean. Some of the tensest moments in The Interrupters are when Matthews inserts herself in between two groups that are about to come to blows and manages to get them to back down through persistence and the sheer force of her personality. It is all but impossible to watch the documentary and not come away awed. But more than merely following the work of the Interrupters, the film analyzes the causes of the violence, touching on poverty, unemployment, substance abuse and general scar- city of opportunities. The Interrupters shows how violence is created when every wrong becomes self-perpetuating—every grievance leads to retaliation and every retaliation leads to even more grievances. It shows how every act of violence causes long-lasting trauma for everyone involved, sometimes in ways one would never expect. Above all, the documentary puts the Interrupters' work in context, showing the difficulties they have to face and why they approach conflict the way they do.

The Interrupters keeps the focus squarely on its subjects, avoiding voiceovers and visual tricks, letting the footage speak for itself. It depicts the Interrupters as complex, flawed individuals who make mistakes and suffer setbacks. The people that they help are also shown to be just as complex—some- times they get better and sometimes they fall back to their old ways. The documentary ultimately shows that breaking free of the legacy of violence takes time and effort and, for most of the subjects, doing the right thing remains a struggle.

The Interrupters does not claim to have all the answers, nor does it try to tie up everything in a nice little bow. The complexity of the film makes every triumph much more meaningful and makes even the smallest accomplishments seem worthwhile. This documentary will humble you, depress you and give you renewed hope for humanity. And that in itself is no small feat.

The Interrupters will be playing at NEIU's Alumni Hall on Sept. 30 at 3:00 p.m. and at Gene Siskel Film Center from Oct. 7 to 20. For more information visit http://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/interrupters.