Color of Justice
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Description
Four African American teenage boys from the Bronx, caught in a maelstrom of panic stirred up by police officers engaging in "racial profiling," end up committing the shocking, senseless murder of a young white woman. A sort of inverse Bonfire of the Vanities minus the antic humor, Color of Justice is a thoroughgoing anatomy of "yet another vicious crime by a gang of marauding inner-city youths," as a TV news anchor characterizes the murder. The film attempts to present its emotionally charged, "ripped from the headlines" story in a balanced, evenhanded manner. To that end, several characters' points of view are examined: the homicide victim's grieving husband, Frank (Bruce Davison); Kameel (Dule Hill), a good boy who was merely along for the ride on the night of the killing; the Reverend Walton (Gregory Hines), an Al Sharpton-type character; the defendants' court-appointed attorney, Sam Lind (Judd Hirsch); up-and-coming TV news reporter Linda Chang (Mia Korf); and calculating Bronx D.A. Jim Sullivan (F. Murray Abraham, who, coincidentally, also played the Bronx D.A. in Bonfire). The movie's all-inclusive agenda precludes any real depth; in the end, the film can't help but slip into parable and melodrama. Still, Color of Justice remains compelling and provocative, thanks to convincing performances by an excellent cast. --Laura Mirsky
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