American Violet: A Film Review

 "What's happening in Melody is happening all over our country. Drug task forces use military tactics to terrorize poor people. Drug laws specifically target people of color. Mean- while federal money goes to counties that convict the most people. And plea bargains are aggressively pushed to hasten those bargains."

Can you imagine living in such a world? A world where certain uncontrollable circumstances in your life can be the cause and effect of everything that happens to you, a world that takes pleasure in financially profiting from scaring you away from your own freedom. That was exactly the world Dee Roberts was living in some 12 years ago. Tim Disney's American Violet takes you into the world of a young African American mother of 4 who is struggling and living in a ghetto in Texas. Dee's day starts out pretty normal; getting her kids up and having breakfast before dropping them off at her mother's apartment. As she goes to work, Dee's apartment complex gets raided by a drug task force, which arrests nearly everyone there. Although Dee was not there at the time of the raid, that didn't stop local police from arresting her at her job. Dee becomes falsely charged with distributing drugs in a school zone. The defense attorney offers Dee a plea bargain and adds that if she doesn't take the plea they will "prosecute her to the fullest ex- tent of the law."

What is a young African-American mother to do? Does she take the plea so she can get out to be with her kids and risk being kicked out of her apartment complex, as well losing all eligibility for government help? Or does she stand her ground, despite not being able to see her kids and going to trial against a District Attorney who would love nothing more than to lock her up?

American Violet (2008) is a drama inspired by true events and directed by Tim Disney. While there wasn't an A-list of actors involved in this film, such names as Nicole Beharie, Will Patton, Michael O'Keefe, Alfre Woodard and Xzibit were featured. American Violet is a film that pulls on our heart- strings while vividly portraying the lives of many diverse characters. One thing in the film that I believe I will never forget is when David Cohen (Tim Blake Nelson), who plays an ACLU attorney, says, "95% [of convicts] never see a jury by peers. The penalties of not taking the plea are so frightening, that even if they are innocent, they plea guilty." And lastly, statistics presented before the credits said the "U.S. has the world's largest prison population. Of 2.3 million people currently in prison, more than 93% accepted plea bargains."

Personally, I am no stranger to visiting someone in a correctional institute and to actually see our jails and prisons so overcrowded, especially with young faces of color, is heart- breaking. It's heartbreaking in the sense that for some people of color, this is their life and the only lifestyle they have ever experienced.

It's unfortunate that such an amazing, thought-provoking and emotional film was inspired by true events. However, it is because of this vivid portrait of reality for people of color and its intense emotional content that makes this film worthy of 5 out of 5 stars. I would highly recommend this film to anyone interested in criminal justice, equality or an experience that is sometimes too familiar for people of color.