Jonathan Curiel, Chronicle Staff Writer
Drama. Starring Nicole Beharie, Will Patton, Tim Blake Nelson, Alfre Woodard, Michael O’Keefe, Charles S. Dutton, Xzibit and Malcolm Barrett. Directed by Tim Disney. Written and produced by Bill Haney. (PG-13. 102 minutes. At Bay Area theaters.)
These are the facts: An African American woman in a small Texas town was wrongly accused of selling drugs, arrested in a housing project raid, then pressured – by the county’s white authorities – to plead guilty in exchange for her release. The woman, Regina Kelly, wouldn’t give in, and with the encouragement of the American Civil Liberties Union sued the district attorney in a case that exposed the wrongful arrests of scores of other African Americans.
“American Violet” dramatizes Kelly’s case, and does so in a way that will leave audiences applauding in their seats – and wondering how much of the film is true. Names are changed (Kelly becomes “Dee Roberts”), time passages are condensed and scenes are massaged to fit the need for Hollywood epiphanies. But Kelly and director Tim Disney say that 95 percent of the movie is based on reality – a high percentage for a drama with so many cinematic moments.
Did Kelly’s mom really tell the ACLU – in language drenched with perfect symbolism – “You must be doing drugs if you think my daughter is going to sue the D.A.”?
No matter. “American Violet” is an ideal movie for an ideal time in America. Pundits have debated whether Barack Obama’s election means we’re in a post-racial society, and this drama, by looking at a corner of southeast Texas, says the truth is complicated.
In Dee Roberts (portrayed with aplomb by newcomer Nicole Beharie), Disney introduces a protagonist who’s poor, undereducated and the single mother of four children. She also has a brief criminal past – and a habit of choosing drug-using men to father her kids. All of this undermines her credibility in the eyes of the county’s tough-talking district attorney, Calvin Beckett (Michael O’Keefe). Even Roberts’ public defender disbelieves her innocence, urging her to take a plea deal.
In a David-against-Goliath matchup, Roberts and her retinue of advisers – including her mother (Alfre Woodard), a white ACLU attorney (Tim Blake Nelson) and a white, guilt-ridden local lawyer (Will Patton) – go up against the establishment. In “American Violet,” the presidential elections of George W. Bush form an important backdrop to Roberts’ long legal brouhaha with Texas good ol’ boys. Disney strikes a delicate balance in politicizing (however softly) the story of Kelly/Roberts, but the ending credits make it clear how Disney feels about the U.S. legal system’s emphasis on plea bargains with accused criminals.
As presented by Disney, Kelly is a kind of Rosa Parks. Compared with Parks, though, Kelly was a virtual unknown – at least until Disney recognized the cinematic appeal of her story. Kelly/Roberts belongs on the big screen. The flowers in this film are an apt symbol of the fragility and hope that run through “American Violet.”
— Advisory: Violence, strong language.
