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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #333333;”>Chicago
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #333333;”>in 2009 may as well have been 1929 – the year of the infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Back when the world took notice of the widespread, senseless murder at the hands of the mob for bootlegging fortunes.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #333333;”>Eighty years later, innocent young people lay dead over hurt feelings and misplaced aggression. Gunning down seven men at once forced the nation to confront the realities of gang violence and develop a plan of attack against the world’s most famous gangster Al Capone in the roaring ‘20s.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #333333;”>In the new millennium, the landscape of gang activity has transformed. “Public Enemy Number One” has evolved into a gang of public enemies – with youth either getting trapped in the gang life or caught in the crossfire.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #333333;”>Much like the historic hit that led to a universal grasp at gangland, the 2009 viral video that captured the senseless death of honor student Derrion Albert, age 16, brought the world back to the new terrain of terror that has become the reality for Chicago residents.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #333333;”>Enter The Interrupters.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #333333;”>Filmmaker Steve James (creator of the classic sports documentary Hoop Dreams) and journalist Alex Kotlowitz take viewers to the frontline of the deaths and shootings that have become ordinary coming-of-age experiences, through the eyes of the people trying to stop the tragedy.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #333333;”>Viewers are taken into the trenches via CeaseFire, an organization dedicated to preventing shootings. The organization is made up of reformed gang members and people who use their “street cred” to re-route young people from following a familiar path to prison or death.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #333333;”>The film offers hope and heartbreak at the same time. For every life that is saved through the radical interventions, three are taken.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #333333;”>The subject matter of The Interrupters is much more interesting and cohesive than the story James actually pulls together through hundreds of hours of video footage.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #333333;”>One of the most powerful perspectives belongs to Ameena Matthews, one of the interrupters. She is the daughter of legendary Chicago gangleader Jeff Fort – co-founder of the Black P. Stones gang – but built a solid reputation in the streets as her father sat in jail on a life sentence.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #333333;”>After becoming a casualty of the violence she helped to perpetuate, Matthews had an epiphany from a hospital bed. These days, she is a devout Muslim who meets the young people where they are and tries to redirect their patterns of action and thought.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #333333;”>Fearlessness and authenticity are the interrupters’ primary weapons in an environment that is blighted by violence, drugs and aggression. The film hints that these are symptoms of a broken community, but the fragmented nature of The Interrupters keeps it from driving home the point that the cycle of violence is a consequence of shattered family structures.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #333333;”>Even as the film haplessly wanders back and forth through the perspectives of its subjects, audiences will soak in the pure intentions of The Interrupters. The film showcases the power of redemption, remorse and peace that comes with a hands-on approach to making a difference.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #333333;”>The Interrupters opens in limited cities on Friday, September 9. The film opens in St. Louis at Frontenac Theatre. The Interrupters is Unrated with a running time of 125 minutes.
