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The Interrupters
Steve James returns to the South Side of Chicago to bring us inside the cycle of violence, poverty and despair in Englewood
Screened at The Lightbox
Steve James directed the award-winning documentary Hoop Dreams, which follows two black high school athletes trying to overcome the poverty and hopelessness of Chicago’s inner-city, through to their college careers and dreams of making it to the NBA.
For The Interrupters, James returns to the South Side of Chicago to bring us inside the cycle of violence, poverty and despair of the community of Englewood.
The film focuses on three individuals working for Ceasefire, an innovative organization that attempts to stop or interrupt confrontations from escalating into violence. Ceasefire is the brainchild of epidemiologist Gary Slutkin, who uses methods employed in battling the spread of infectious diseases to contain the spread of violence in Englewood.
The film unfolds over a year, in four parts marked by the seasons. James and his small crew follow three “violence interrupters” who were all once part of the violence they now try to contain. These individuals try to stem violence by mediating potentially explosive situations.
Ameena Mathews, the daughter of notorious gang leader Jeff Fort, was a drug ring enforcer. Now, she is a mother of four and wife of an iman of a local mosque. Ameena is a force, gentle and empathic when comforting the troubled youths of Englewood and tough and commanding when sending a message.
Cobe Williams’ father was murdered when he was 11. Cobe, now 38, spent time in prison for drug-related charges and attempted murder. He is now married with four children and has moved to the suburbs to protect his kids from the violence he grew up in.
Eddie Bocanegra, 34, spent 14 years in prison for a murder he committed when he was 17, in retaliation for the shooting of his best friend. He is reluctant to talk about the incident, but the pain of those events is evident in his face.
James structures his movie around these morally complex individuals who find some redemption and purpose from their past actions by helping others to avoid treading their paths. We see these individuals trying desperately to defuse a number of violent confrontations, or calming down individuals wanting to retaliate for an apparent slight, humiliation, or financial loss.
Many of these gang members lacked positive interpersonal relationships while growing up; they find “respect” and power in dominating their surroundings through violence. But the violent lifestyle they choose leads only to jail or death. At one funeral of a young victim, the victim’s friends are sizing up the funeral arrangements and picturing how their funeral might look. They see it as inevitable that they will die young too.
James does not focus on the success of the program; rather, he gives you a window on a community traumatized by violence and poverty. As producer Alex Kotlowitz states in an interview with Filmspotting [see link below], we are not amazed that so many drop out of school, we are amazed at how many continue to go to school, given the circumstances they have to grow up in. When a 16-year-old bystander is murdered in a summer of violence that shocks a nation, politicians come to town promising change and action. Some conservatives recommend bringing in the army, as if Chicago were Iraq. They have heard it before, and see it as another photo-op. But what these young people need are good schools, hope, and jobs when they finish school.
In the end we do not yet know whether the program is successful. In the epilogue, we see successes: a couple of young men are now working and are making an effort to break free of their criminal surroundings, and one mother is making progress reaching out to her volatile sons; small but worthy steps.
A trailer of the film can be seen here.
Watch an interview with Steve James and Alex Kotlowitz.
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2011-10-07 10:34:23
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