Based on the actual experiences of
co-writers and co-actors Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs while growing up
together in West Oakland and the Bay area, the film follows Collin (Diggs) and
Miles (Casal) as childhood buddies who are struggling with the loss of their
beloved neighborhood as new affluent hipsters are rapidly infiltrating and
changing the dynamics of the city and ultimately throwing their relationship
into turmoil.
Blindspotting starts out as a buddy comedy but eventually becomes a serious
social commentary on race relations, police brutality and the effects of
gentrification by throwing together a mix of people with very different values
and experiences that see the locals changing their perspective on their old
community.
The independent gritty drama opens with a
split screen montage of West Oakland, California and the Bay area ghetto street
life set to Verdi’s opera "Libiamo Ne' Lieti Calici Brindisi", starting the film off with a fun celebratory vibe juxtaposing old and
new images of a city in flux between what it used to be and what it’s becoming.
This low budget buddy drama about the
friendship between Collin, a soft spoken quiet young black man, and Miles, his
hotheaded fast-talking white friend who grew up having to adapt to the
predominantly black cultural hub of West Oakland, takes place during the last
three days of Collin’s probation period, but Miles’ volatile temper keeps threatening
to violate Collin’s strict parole terms.
When Collin witnesses a police shooting of
a black man one night while driving home, it affects him more than he realizes
and we quickly suspect that his last few days serving his probation as a
convicted felon could easily end with him back in jail and losing his freedom.
Meanwhile the strange transition and metamorphoses
of his community into unrecognizable people and places, and the innate police
prejudices toward young black men are making his plans to leave a life of
incarceration behind more difficult than he imagined.
Blindspotting refers to a psychology term called Rubin’s Vase where two images
exist simultaneously but depending on one’s background and experiences, we only
see one image while missing the other until it’s pointed out to us. The film
thus shows how we are unconsciously biased toward one perception of certain
people until we are shown another.
A passion project that was ten years in the
making, Blindspotting is the
culmination of years of planning and went through many iterations over the
years, but despite its long incubation period the film feels remarkably current,
dealing truthfully with today’s extremely topical issues.
Blindspotting is a tough hard-hitting reflection of urban inner-city life that
has a good heart and no small amount of humor mixed with tense drama. It’s an
amazing tribute to the affection and determination of the filmmakers that this fun
visual record of a period in transition from old school boom box to new digital
cell phone apps nostalgia has been brought to the screen with such honesty and flare.
JP
