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lizagna
Reviews
Traffic Stop (2017)
A poor excuse for a documentary
This was a tragic incident, and the officer could have done a better job of handling this perhaps, but he was not the one who initiated the obstreperous, violent behavior.
The star of our show, Breiaon King, was a jerk from the beginning and did not help her own cause. King could have taken the simple traffic citation (she admitted later in the movie she'd been speeding, but from the moment she was stopped tried to weasel out of the responsibility and behaved reprehensibly) and been on her way to work. She was initially uncooperative and inflammatory without provocation, then when things really went south, she went into Drama Queen Victim, throwing more fuel on the fire.
Then there's the poor quality of the film itself. Kate Davis chooses to show a lot footage in the movie that is completely off-topic. Like yeah--I really need 3 minutes of watching from inside King's dark garage the garage door opening, her pulling out, then the garage door closing. Thanks, Kate. Wonderful. A bunch of family photos. Watching a video of her toddler's ballet recital. How were these even relevant? You wasted my time, Davis. This was better filmed than the feature-length documentary Strong Island (on Netflix), but was just as guilty of using a bunch of superfluous filler. And at least Strong Island, regardless of how badly executed, was telling a story of genuine victimization and racial injustice.
Thank you, Kate Davis, for showing Breaion in church quoting Bible scriptures and the many, many times she was so sweet with her indoor voice. I love how you showed her in her classroom, assuring me of how fantastic she is with children and teaching future generations. Why didn't you show these times as a split screen juxtaposed with her screaming obscenities and swinging/kicking at the officer way before there was any provocation to do so and kicking at the inside of the car?
A poor excuse for a documentary--I can't believe that HBO, which usually has a high standard, has picked this up.