This is a perfect example of what great independent film can be. It takes place in two rooms, but is so well made that you never wish it was opened up. The realtime storytelling makes the heart wrenching story even more effective. Great acting, especially by Frankie Faison, Enrico Natale and Tom McElroy. I hope this film finds a wider audience. It deserves it.
47 Reviews
a story to know
ferguson-616 September 2021
Greetings again from the darkness. No one denies law enforcement officers have a tough and demanding and risky job. However, with cell phones putting video cameras in the hands of just about everyone, any poor decision by cops ... and certainly any tragic one... is likely to get recorded and then plastered across all media. Writer-director David Midell delivers a dramatized reenactment of a tragic and inexplicable interaction between one man and a team of frustrated cops whose actions proved deadly.
On November 19, 2011, former Marine Kenneth Chamberlain Sr was asleep in his White Plains, NY apartment. He rolled over and accidentally enacted his LifeAid alert pendant. Since he slept without his hearing aids, Kenneth didn't hear Candace, the LifeAid operator, try to reach him. Following protocol, Candace ordered a welfare check. 90 minutes later, Kenneth lay dead - killed by police after they broke down his front door. The tension during that 90 minutes is nearly unbearable.
Frankie Faison ("Banshee") gives an excellent and gut-wrenching performance as Chamberlain. We 'feel' everything he says. As he talks to the cops through the door, we learn he has a heart condition, as well as a mental health issue (likely bi-polar). His constant pleas of "leave me alone", "I'm fine", the alarm "was an accident", and "you're not coming in" all heighten the sense of impending doom he feels. We feel it too. His experience tells him to expect something to go wrong anytime the police are involved.
The three cops banging on his door are Sergeant Parks (Steve O'Connell), Officer Jackson (Ben Martin), and Officer Rossi (Enrique Natale). Jackson is the racist, hot-headed gum-smacking cop (blond of course) who has judged Chamberlain simply by the demographics of the run-down complex he lives in. Rossi is the empathetic rookie cop who has a feel for the pressure Chamberlain is under, and his attempts at preaching patience are shot down by the more experienced cops. Parks has little time for Rossi's cuddly approach or Jackson's on-edge nature, but he's not appreciative of Chamberlain's refusal to cooperate, and certainly can't relate to his distrust of the badge.
Midell's film has been well received at film festivals the past couple of years, and his 'real time' approach coupled with the performances and the claustrophobic setting (it all takes place in Chamberlain's apartment and the stairwell outside his door) work to give us a feel for the emotions and nervous energy of the situation. Throughout the ordeal, Chamberlain communicates with Candace at LifeAid and his own family on his cell. The opening quote tells us that depending on who you are, the sight of a police officer could mean "safety" or "terror". This film relays the latter, and the actual audio and photos over the closing credits prove this horror film was unbearably true. "This is my home" was not enough for Kenneth Chamberlain. One small quibble: Chamberlain's hearing aids come and go through the film.
In select theaters and VOD on September 17, 2021.
On November 19, 2011, former Marine Kenneth Chamberlain Sr was asleep in his White Plains, NY apartment. He rolled over and accidentally enacted his LifeAid alert pendant. Since he slept without his hearing aids, Kenneth didn't hear Candace, the LifeAid operator, try to reach him. Following protocol, Candace ordered a welfare check. 90 minutes later, Kenneth lay dead - killed by police after they broke down his front door. The tension during that 90 minutes is nearly unbearable.
Frankie Faison ("Banshee") gives an excellent and gut-wrenching performance as Chamberlain. We 'feel' everything he says. As he talks to the cops through the door, we learn he has a heart condition, as well as a mental health issue (likely bi-polar). His constant pleas of "leave me alone", "I'm fine", the alarm "was an accident", and "you're not coming in" all heighten the sense of impending doom he feels. We feel it too. His experience tells him to expect something to go wrong anytime the police are involved.
The three cops banging on his door are Sergeant Parks (Steve O'Connell), Officer Jackson (Ben Martin), and Officer Rossi (Enrique Natale). Jackson is the racist, hot-headed gum-smacking cop (blond of course) who has judged Chamberlain simply by the demographics of the run-down complex he lives in. Rossi is the empathetic rookie cop who has a feel for the pressure Chamberlain is under, and his attempts at preaching patience are shot down by the more experienced cops. Parks has little time for Rossi's cuddly approach or Jackson's on-edge nature, but he's not appreciative of Chamberlain's refusal to cooperate, and certainly can't relate to his distrust of the badge.
Midell's film has been well received at film festivals the past couple of years, and his 'real time' approach coupled with the performances and the claustrophobic setting (it all takes place in Chamberlain's apartment and the stairwell outside his door) work to give us a feel for the emotions and nervous energy of the situation. Throughout the ordeal, Chamberlain communicates with Candace at LifeAid and his own family on his cell. The opening quote tells us that depending on who you are, the sight of a police officer could mean "safety" or "terror". This film relays the latter, and the actual audio and photos over the closing credits prove this horror film was unbearably true. "This is my home" was not enough for Kenneth Chamberlain. One small quibble: Chamberlain's hearing aids come and go through the film.
In select theaters and VOD on September 17, 2021.
We're here to help you
nogodnomasters22 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This is a gut wrenching tale based on a true story and appears to have been captured fairly accurately. Unfortunately the title tells us how the film ends. Kenneth Chamberlain accidentally sets off his life monitor while asleep. He doesn't respond to the operator and police are sent out to assist him and ensure he is alright. Kenneth is bipolar and doesn't want the police to enter his apartment in fear of them stealing his shoes. He asks them to leave. The police suspect he may be doing something illegal like having a half-dead hooker tied up in the closet, apparently a frequent occurrence in White Plains, NY. Things escalate.
It was a sad tale and of course the cops got away with murder again.
Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity. No half-dead hooker tied up in the closet.
It was a sad tale and of course the cops got away with murder again.
Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity. No half-dead hooker tied up in the closet.
Well made drama.
sharonahennessy4 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
All the chaos and confusion that took place who can see reason? It was sad to see an elderly man already suffering being treated in such a cruel way. All unnecessary the men in question should be ashamed of themselves and have the decency to stand up to their crime. What a tragedy. Well done to the team who made this drama it was very well made and a very moving film. I just wanted the harassment to stop I thought how much longer? They are going to let up any minute now but they kept on and on and on. Crazy!! I sat their watching the police escalate the situation without a cause. I sat there and there was nothing I could do about what I heard and saw, just like the bystanders. My condolences to family and I hope they find justice.
Not a cinematic tour de force.
robinsonjeffrey-1720828 September 2021
Fine acting by all involved. The film encompassed many genres: dramatic, educational and documentary. A must see for emergency 1st responders and should be discussed in an open forum.
This tragedy could have been avoided with proper training and egos kept in check.
This tragedy could have been avoided with proper training and egos kept in check.
Well done propaganda film
edjas18 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Acting and storyline very well done except for ending. Film shows chamberlain face down being shot. Official report states he went after officers with a knife. That should have been detailed for accuracy. In watching the movie it was clear to me that the narrative that he was killed because he was black was false. If he was white it would have been the same result. Except that the police would have busted down the door sooner. They delayed their entry because he was black. In the movie the police did not allow relatives to intervene. That was criminal on their part if true. Interesting propaganda movie. The knife shown in the movie was about 1/3 the size of the actual knife he used per the ending credits!!! An inconvenient fact. His death was the end of the movie. They should have shown the inquiry that followed. I didn't believe the ending. More info was needed but you don t get that in a propaganda movie.
Such an important and compelling movie
mermaidbelle0624 July 2021
It is hard to put into words how I feel after watching this movie. It is a very personal film for me. When I was a teenager, I witnessed a very similar incident of police taking unnecessary measures against a person who should not have been targeted. A very close family friend's son died after he called the police for what he believed was the process of a home invasion. It didn't take long for the police to turn him into the suspect and murder him in front of his disabled father. They did not try to talk to his mother and only told her to step aside. He was a 22 year-old Mexican-American young man. The official police report leaves a lot of details out and his family never got the justice they deserve. His father was a Vietnam veteran, just like Kenneth Chamberlain. Frankie Faison who plays Chamberlain gives an award-winning performance. He draws us in to his vulnerabilities and the traumas that shaped the man he became. After the horrific Rodney King beating and unimaginable George Floyd murder, I feel like most of us have witnessed enough brutality to realize policing must change in America (and around the world). We need more than just police reports. This movie explores a real-life incident in real-time. It captures the difficulties that police officers deal with, but also examines the threats many members of the community feel when they are helpless in police hands. The movie takes us into the internal and external dialogues police have with each other and with themselves. You cannot help but step into their shoes, into a high-intensity situation which requires methodological training. It shows the terrorization we are all feeling -where police and the community are on opposite ends. I can only hope that this movie creates a bridge between us all and opens the doors of dialogue; our cities must do better.
Good, but...
AmovieA16 November 2021
The duration of the film is 83 minutes and the narration gets straight to the point. And it success to made the audience emotional throughout the film. But I think there should be additional narrative about the development characters here. I'm just tired of bad cops and their victims. It's already hard to watch people hurt because bad cops in real life.
But seriously, if you didn't know the story, you should watch it.
But seriously, if you didn't know the story, you should watch it.
A Must Watch
carlcasso18 September 2021
As A white man watching this I was enraged, I can only imagine what it's like for black people to watch.
It's filmed really well and you get a real sense of what went on on that horrible morning.
Looking at the reviews on here you can see some very racist views.
The coroner ruled that he was killed while on the ground and not while running around brandishing a knife.
The acting is excellent by the whole cast.
I encourage everyone to watch this movie.
It's filmed really well and you get a real sense of what went on on that horrible morning.
Looking at the reviews on here you can see some very racist views.
The coroner ruled that he was killed while on the ground and not while running around brandishing a knife.
The acting is excellent by the whole cast.
I encourage everyone to watch this movie.
An Unbelievable Event that Actually Happened
g_yokel22 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This movie is based on a true story and the title says it all. This film is intense and highlights how police are not trained to deal with these types of situations. The problem I have with this film is the ending. It takes a poetic license with the events once the door is breached, taking an already egregious act and turning into an execution.
When a dog bites someone the owner needs to be held accountable to ensure it doesnt happen again. I hope the city and the state have to payout a large enough number to curb this type of policing.
When a dog bites someone the owner needs to be held accountable to ensure it doesnt happen again. I hope the city and the state have to payout a large enough number to curb this type of policing.
"Based on real events"
hectordanielbuelna6 February 2022
Cinematography is okay. Sound design is okay. The acting is quite bland and some of the dialogue feels very weird and out of place at times, specially taking into account the way some of the lines are delivered. The movie is very loosely based on real events. After finishing it I was curious about the story so I did some digging. As a cinephile, one has to be used to movies based on real events making creative choices and changing some stuff around, but this just takes the cake. It portraits the policemen like stone cold killers set on erradicating all the minorities from earth... I'm being hyperbolic of course, but that's my point, filmakers went out of their way to turn the policemen unlikeable a*holes looking for excuses to kill people.
Waste of time.
Waste of time.
Watch this - Consider it a public service.
missftaylor4 July 2023
"depending on who you are, the sight of an officer can produce either a warm sense of safety and contentment or a plummeting feeling of terror"
Watch this movie and read that again.
Based on just one true story and over a decade after the events took place, this film is still painfully relevant. You'll likely spend the credits sitting in silence - recovering and trying to process what you just witnessed. All poor reviews so far seem to have missed the point and/or thought it was fiction.
No matter where you live in this world, but especially if you are white (yes Australia, us too), please, watch this film. Check your privilege and let your perspective change with it.
Watch this movie and read that again.
Based on just one true story and over a decade after the events took place, this film is still painfully relevant. You'll likely spend the credits sitting in silence - recovering and trying to process what you just witnessed. All poor reviews so far seem to have missed the point and/or thought it was fiction.
No matter where you live in this world, but especially if you are white (yes Australia, us too), please, watch this film. Check your privilege and let your perspective change with it.
Undermined by overdone..
hansbuiskool22 September 2021
Good topic, realistic case, too bad the film, sadly enough, looses part of it's effectivity as well as part of it's objective credibility in prolonging overacting jobs, and due to it's highly unnessesary overdramatized and horribly pompous musical support.
Ridiculous!
Valid_ID26 January 2022
Inane situation, which could have been EASILY RESOLVED by simply opening the door for a minute, and talking face to face!
On one hand there's some policemen responding to a wellfare check; on the other hand there's a senile old man who thinks "a wellfare check" means he's on wellfare, and that people breaking into his apartment stole his shoes. The old man's niece says "he doesn't think right, he imagines things". The police follows policies that require they see the old man in person, but the old man refuses to open the door. That's it, and I gave up watching after 15 minutes because insanity is frustrating, requires patience, and EXPERT MEDICAL HELP that obviously police can't provide.
On one hand there's some policemen responding to a wellfare check; on the other hand there's a senile old man who thinks "a wellfare check" means he's on wellfare, and that people breaking into his apartment stole his shoes. The old man's niece says "he doesn't think right, he imagines things". The police follows policies that require they see the old man in person, but the old man refuses to open the door. That's it, and I gave up watching after 15 minutes because insanity is frustrating, requires patience, and EXPERT MEDICAL HELP that obviously police can't provide.
Unbelievable....can not understand that actually happened
agnieszkaszypula12 July 2023
I still can not stop crying
How is this possible, over and over again police is doing it
Poor people, black people, innocent people, vulnerable people, that that can handle, is it compensation for not solving the actual criminals???
I am so glad I am not living in US, that would be scary....
Police should serve and protect but over and over again it shows different....
There is no words that can make it better, still can not believe that nobody could stopped that tragedy...
I am so glad that I watched it but I am do sad and devastated at the same time!
My thougs are with the family if Mr Kenneth Chamberlain.... RIP!
How is this possible, over and over again police is doing it
Poor people, black people, innocent people, vulnerable people, that that can handle, is it compensation for not solving the actual criminals???
I am so glad I am not living in US, that would be scary....
Police should serve and protect but over and over again it shows different....
There is no words that can make it better, still can not believe that nobody could stopped that tragedy...
I am so glad that I watched it but I am do sad and devastated at the same time!
My thougs are with the family if Mr Kenneth Chamberlain.... RIP!
THE MURDER OF KENNETH CHAMBERLAIN
aramsdale19 July 2023
How was this film not promoted by Hollywood, the media & the whole entertainment industry?!
I came across it scrolling through Amazon Prime so found it by chance, which i find to be a ridiculous way to find a film as well made & educating.
I say educating as it teaches the viewers how corrupt the American policing & justice systems are. They sent in an armed tactical force to "welfare check", a 70 year old Bio-polar Veteran with a heart condition, not opening his door! The frightened him. Tried to bully him then shot him but were not charged with any crime & kept their job!
Well done to all involved in the making of the heartbreaking, hatd to watch film.
7/10.
I came across it scrolling through Amazon Prime so found it by chance, which i find to be a ridiculous way to find a film as well made & educating.
I say educating as it teaches the viewers how corrupt the American policing & justice systems are. They sent in an armed tactical force to "welfare check", a 70 year old Bio-polar Veteran with a heart condition, not opening his door! The frightened him. Tried to bully him then shot him but were not charged with any crime & kept their job!
Well done to all involved in the making of the heartbreaking, hatd to watch film.
7/10.
Powerful and well-acted film on the US criminal justice system, racial inequity and health inequity
hellbrunn19 September 2021
The opening quote at the beginning of the film by Christopher L. Hayes is excellent framing: "Depending on who you are, the sight of an officer can produce either a warm sense of safety and contentment or a plummeting feeling of terror." This film is about learning about Kenneth Chamberlain as much as it is about learning about the failed systems that were designed to protect him. To find solutions, it is important to understand where the problems are, and this film's narrative shows us a mapping.
Smart ass cops
rickeysmith-7102712 October 2021
Omg I can't stop crying
theresaniksick-0337118 September 2021
Oh my God I can't stop crying, I'm a white woman and I have to say that this is absolutely horrendous, I know that this happens all the time in the black community but it also happens in the white community as well, and it's really horrifying to know that those police officers were never charged and I'm sorry I cannot call them police officers because to me they were just pure evil thugs... In this day and age I have lost all respect for the police departments, I know there's some good ones out there but you can't weed out the good ones and the bad ones which is why I have no respect for them anymore, they think they are above and beyond the law and that they can make up laws as they go along and it's outrageous, things like this have got to stop... I almost turned this movie off because I started crying after the first 10 minutes but I forced myself to watch it and I'm just appalled and still crying!!!!!!
¡Película poderosa y extraordinaria!
maykermedina26 September 2021
Wuao what an interesting story that you can not stop seeing. From the start it grabs you and keeps you tense. I was very angry about the situation. The music and sound is great... Written and directed by David Midell, the film directly and forcefully addresses the problems that have led to the country's African American and Latino communities being frequent victims of extrajudicial killings at the hands of the police.
Terrible Acting
davidsproductions22 January 2024
Whomever played officer Rossi was terrible, probably one of the worst actors I have ever seen. He totally took me out of the movie and made it feel ultra low budget. Which is a shame because the subject matter was powerful and the other actors delivered very compelling performances. I sure hope I don't have to sit through another flat performance of his ever again. The scene where he's crying in the hallway and bumps his elbow was laughable. I don't know if acting classes would help, maybe quitting acting all together and finding a new profession would make the world a better place. The handheld camerawork was also too much made me dizzy.
Powerful, must-see piece of cinema!
marksiverson18 September 2021
This movie shows the reason why cinema is the most powerful form of art know to man. It's gripping, beautiful, intense, profound and simple all at the same time. Frankie Faison delivers a stellar performace and the cinematography by up and coming DP Camrin Petramale is noteworthy. So well produced by the filmmakers!! Gotta see this one!!!
So powerful, everyone must see
healthfitnessrn1 September 2020
Wow. This film left me in tears. It feels like you are right there for the whole incident and can see how situations like these can easily spiral out of control without proper deescalation techniques. This movie has the power has to cross bipartisan lines and give people a glimpse into these types of tragedies and how to avoid them.
Powerful and extraordinary movie!
lilycripps19 September 2021
What an amazing movie....everything was so well done...the script, the editing, the acting, the music/sound. It left me in awe! Everyone should watch this movie! The world/society could learn from this movie!
It wasn't until the movie was over that I realized my hands were clenched so tightly I had nail marks on my palms. Frankie Faison portrayed Mr Chamberlain amazingly. Enrico Natale's Officer Rossi is such a powerful character. All the actors have their all, and it comes through. Watch this movie!
It wasn't until the movie was over that I realized my hands were clenched so tightly I had nail marks on my palms. Frankie Faison portrayed Mr Chamberlain amazingly. Enrico Natale's Officer Rossi is such a powerful character. All the actors have their all, and it comes through. Watch this movie!
a powerful movie
tezzahols19 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The movie is very powerful in the story that unfolded when a 70 yr old veteran was killed by police because he wouldn't do what they wanted him to do, there is no propaganda about the movie, if that is how police act in America, i can understand why people hate them, instead of sending storm troopers for a welfare check, either firemen or paramedics would be better, as they have compassion and are trained and educated, not thugs. The acting was spot on, and the story unfolded in a truthful easy to understand way, pity the police weren't charged with murder.
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