Reconstructing an escalating dispute from video recordings made by responders, director Geeta Gandbhir reveals how white citizens attempt to leverage the police against people of color. By Peter Debruge. Chief Film Critic. Who among us, when we were young, did not annoy the cranky old geezer down the street? No one dreamed the witch next door would make good on her threats. The irony here is that it was Lorincz — the potentially dangerous party — who was constantly calling Sociologically speaking, the Karen phenomenon — whereby white women use their social position and privilege to dictate and demand how others behave — can be tricky to pin down, since it plays on invisible dynamics.
Is it possible that she was counting on it? The weaponization of the police by certain citizens remains one of the unspoken ways this institution can be used to enforce not just the law, but also the vestiges of white supremacy. Interrogations from separate police visits indicate that she shouted the N-word and other epithets at her tiny tormentors. But then, footage from her own surveillance cameras shows the kids deliberately taunting her, shaking their butts in her direction.
None of this is eye-witnessed by the cops, whose every word is recorded including choice ones to describe Lorincz, who comes across as a far greater nuisance than her neighbors. With every call, by the time the police arrive, the offending behavior has settled down — not that any of it could possibly justify what ultimately happened, when Lorincz introduced a firearm into the equation.
This is the trickiest part for Gandbhir to reconstruct, since the shooting occurs off-camera, although the director does use audio from what appears to be a doorbell camera recording from across the street to give audiences a sense of the confrontation — far different from the life-and-death scenario Lorincz describes. That, plus the role of guns in her response, should give audiences plenty to discuss and debate.
For all the criticism of police in our culture lately, they come off looking like the good guys here, doing their best to defuse the situation. If only Owens had been the one to call them that fateful night, maybe things would have turned out differently. Home Film Reviews. Jan 24, pm PT. By Peter Debruge Plus Icon. Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic askdebruge. See All. Related Stories. Popular on Variety. Jump to Comments. In Sundance Film Festival U. Documentary Competition.
