"Blindspotting" Review - You Simply Must Meet Rafael & Daveed

I remember the day seeing Daveed Diggs live as the silly yet groovy Thomas Jefferson and the fast rapping Lafayette in Hamilton. He impressed me so much then, and he only continues to impress me more with “Blindspotting”. Diggs, along with the truly talented Rafael Casal, has created an amazing, relevant, funny, and right to the heart story that brings out the best and worst of Oakland’s growth as a city, along with shining a light on the issues of police brutality, family, and getting a second chance at life. Their acting and storytelling goes full bounds and in my opinion, has a bigger impact than the very recent “Sorry to Bother You”, a movie that also talks about racism and the city of Oakland.

Don’t get me wrong, it is an indie film, so it’s got some bizarre stuff, but no where near crazy to what It could’ve been. For example, there’s a lot of spoken rap in this. Most of the time, it fits, but sometimes, it comes out on some of the more tense moments that I don’t think require it as much. But even on the parts that the spoken rap felt off, it didn’t feel wrong to me as it’s probably something you see a lot of in Oakland. But at the end of the day, the story really takes a look at some hard pressed issues in such a unique way that is not right on the nose, but still ends up making you think about the people around you. It’s got a mixture of moods that range from the drama of “Les Miserables” to even the humor from “Sorry to Bother You”, but it’s all very balanced out, which is something rare to find in a really well made dramidy, especially dealing with the issues this film explores.

“Blindspotting” is easily one of the more memorable films I have seen this year, and I think it’ll continue to be as the midway point of the movie season passes by. It’s definitely a must see.

Also, as a little random tangent, many of you complain about the lack of diversity in films and the lack of actors of women and color at the Oscars. Well, the way you can make these kind of films happen more is if YOU GO SEE THEM. You ignored Annihilation, you ignored Sorry To Bother You. There are more and more films coming out that fit the criteria that you wish to see more of in Hollywood. Here is one that fits the criteria. You want this film to get some awards? Go see it, spread the word, and that will be the way to halt #OscarsSoWhite one more step.

Two Nebs Up!