Before my review, allow me to share a personal connection to the content of "Summer of Violence":
During the summer of 1993, I briefly visited Denver, Colorado. My entire stop was 10 minutes. (My family and I were at a rest stop during our Amtrak trip from Chicago to Seattle.) As a 9-year-old, I had no idea that the city was enduring such violence.
Flash forward to Chicago in 2009. I became a citizen journalist to combat media stereotypes about Chicago's violence during President Obama's first term. Just like the movie's protagonist, Naomi, I found myself trying to find ways to solve the problem of violence through my passion (writing).
As the movie begins, Naomi is trying to find her passion as well. She wants to be a poet, but her father wants her to become a lawyer. When she makes a decision to disappoint him, she finds herself winding down a path of wild twists and turns which causes her to question what she really wants.
Overall, the movie was appealing. Nicki Micheaux did a wonderful job in capturing the essence of 1993--from the fashion, the slang, to the innocence of that time period. Everything was so simple then. Most people didn't have cell phones- nor did they have the luxury of social media to spread messages quickly. Everything was grass roots and word-of-mouth. In addition to that, people valued family a bit more then (in my opinion).
My only critiques were:
1) The pacing of the film.
Some scenes dragged on too long; others interrupted serious ones with a shocking twist or tragic incidence that didn't have an efficient build up.
2) The story development.
Given that Ms. Micheaux comes from the world of episodic television, it was tempting for her to focus more on character development than moving the story forward. There were a couple of scenes that could've been merged to keep the audience's interest.
Still, this is a great film. It's VERY relevant to today's times. I hope that more people support it before it starts streaming.
