Chirphymium
It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional
Bluebell Alcock
Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies
Erica Derrick
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
Kate Davis' "Traffic Stop" is an American 2017 half-hour documentary that managed an Oscar nomination this year and actually lost out to another film in the documentary short category that also has the word "traffic" in the title. Oh well, as for this one here it is about a Black woman who refused to cooperate properly during a police control and we get the video footage of this and the rest is basically all about manipulating the audience into thinking what a likable honorable person the woman in the car was. Oh well, I do think both sides did not act accordingly here. Yes the police officer was over-the-top violent perhaps, but if you refuse cooperating like she does and then even try to hurry up the cop, then sometimes you get what you deserve and it is not like she carried away any injuries from that event. Besides if you are in the police car, it may not be the best idea to constantly scream and, even worse, kick the equipment. Obey the officer's orders 100% is the best way to handle the situation and get it over with quickly and not act like a brat all the time. Given the "victim's" intellect, she really should know that. Don't let them fool you. This is NOT an example of racist violence or even a hate crime as some may want to declare it. Sucks to see the Academy fell for it, but then again with liberal Hollywood full of shame these days because of (alleged) racism, it is not too surprising it managed the nomination. Luckily, the far more deserving project won the category. What else is there to say about this one. Completely aside from the subject, I also think the physical execution here felt very mediocre and the film had very little to offer apart from it being among the most controversial Oscar entries this year. You have to decide for one side here, indifference is not an option. For me, it was a lot of hullaballoo to be honest and a situation that definitely does not deserve a film made about it. The moment when the film hits rock-bottom really is when they even get a reference to the Trayvon Martin case in here. Oh boy, this could not have been any more disrespectful really and even if you say that the young Black American was shot and murdered in cold blood (which I don't), then it is the most disrespectful thing to compare what happened to him and what happened to Breaion King. I give this one a huge thumbs-down. I have not seen everything obviously, but this one we got here is a definite contender for worst Oscar-nominated movie this year. A failure from pretty much every perspective.
siys
I stopped watching this film after 2:30, because it was already evident Breaion King got what she deserved.I am sick to death of people using race as an excuse for bad behavior and blaming the police as racist.When stopped by the police, no matter for what or why, you do not argue - that's what court is for - cooperate, accept your ticket and if you believe you were wrongly ticketed, fight it in court.Anyone who argues with the police or resists the police deserves what they get.
TitleNotKnown .
The topic is so now. We can't let it slide when police get it wrong without remorse and without serious efforts to improve practices and help the communities it serves to heal. This film, however, will do little to move us down the track. In fact, it may hurt the cause.Breaion King gets pulled over for a traffic violation. Right out of the gate, she starts getting cute with the officer saying ridiculous things like (paraphrase), 'I'm already stopped so can you still pull me over?' SMH. He proceeds to respectfully ask her to get back in the car and hand him her license. She remains belligerent, combative and non-compliant until finally he is forced to go to the next level. No pun intended but that means 'force'. Everyone knows how situations like this go down but we're supposed to believe that she's naive and innocent. The best part is that while scenes from the police dash-cam of her continued bad behavior come in and out so do scenes where she makes claims for her intelligence. It almost makes me wonder if this situation/arrest was somewhat calculated on her part. I agree with another poster here, this film plays into the hands of certain folks who say that liberals in general are over politicizing identity politics. A better film might be one in which a split screen shows dash-cam footage of how an officer behaves under similar circumstances with a white suspect and with a black suspect. This film, at the very least, is lazy.
thethomasboy
The topics of systemic racism, police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement are supremely important (especially in today's America), which is why I was so disappointed in this weak and slanted documentary about the "brutal arrest" of Austin school-teacher Breaion King. Police incidents boil down to the human beings involved, their backgrounds, perceptions and subsequent actions/reactions.This would have been an excellent opportunity to explore those by profiling both King AND Officer Richter, to solid context for understanding the issue and finding a solution to it. Instead director Kate Davis choose to go to great lengths placing King in the warmest light possible for cheap shock value. The result is an emotionally manipulative profile featuring iPhone videos of her daughter's ballet recital, tearful stories of her struggles of being raised by and then being a single-parent, and the most out-of-context news coverage possible.On top of this, (while unfortunate,) the arrest video clearly shows a suspect trying to get out of a ticket, being uncooperative, and playing up the scene for any cameras present. In response, the Officer is compelled to escalate in order to do his job, and did so in a calm, respectful tone of voice without his gun, tazer, baton or punches. A cop asking you to stay in your car, or put your feet inside (to close the door) is not unreasonable. But trying to frustrate a cop so much that he won't write you a ticket IS unreasonable. As a relatively mild misunderstanding, this was an opportunity for both sides to LEARN, to tamp down fear on both sides, and create a better bridge of understanding. Instead of elevating the conversation, the director does harm to her own cause and sets us back on this important issue. First: It will be quickly dismissed by Blue Lives Matter supporters for what it is: a propaganda piece with an (unfortunate) but not brutal ordinary traffic stop with a difficult suspect. Second: it lends credence and legitimizes right-wing docs like "Obama's America" (2012) by saying all docs are political. This is a disturbing trend in "Documentaries" these days: Heavy-handed, thinly-sourced, and purposefully unbalanced clearly intended to sway viewers based on a political agenda. Documentaries have the potential to become the new "investigative journalism," for the short attention span audiences of today, educating the electorate, and pulling people out of their bubbles. If you strongly believe your 'side' is right, showing the entire truth should bear that out. Save the fact-picking for historical dramas.
