American Trial: The Eric Garner Story

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American Trial: The Eric Garner Story

2019

1h 40m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

71%

Tomatometer

7 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Real-life prosecutors and defense attorneys conduct an unscripted mock trial against the NYPD officer who was videotaped using a chokehold on Eric Garner in 2014, using the actual evidence, witnesses, expert testimony and rules of criminal procedure.

John DeFore

The Hollywood Reporter

Though there's no doubt where his sympathies lie, first-time feature director Messinger is dispassionate in the courtroom, allowing both sides to present reasoned arguments.

May 19, 2020

Full Review

Dwight Brown

National Newspaper Publishers Association

Producer/writer/director Roee Messinger has created an astonishing film, a video that contemplates what if. It tackles themes of race, police brutality, stop and frisk and the plusses and minuses of our judicial system.

Rated: 3.5/4

Oct 14, 2019

Full Review

Bill Newcott

The Saturday Evening Post

[It] won't replace To Kill a Mockingbird or Inherit the Wind as the cinema's quintessential courtroom drama, but it may well endure as the most authentic

Rated: 4/5

Jul 24, 2020

Full Review

Joyce Slaton

Common Sense Media

Devastating look at a Black Lives Matter flashpoint.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 16, 2020

Full Review

Joey Magidson

Hollywood News

"American Trial: The Eric Garner Story" could have been something special. The idea has spectacular merits. It's just in the execution that things fall flat.

Rated: 2/4

May 18, 2020

Full Review

Bedatri D. Choudhury

Hyperallergic

American Trial and its portrayal of the broken American legal system seems so real that it doesn't just convey Snipe Garner's helplessness but also amplifies it.

Oct 18, 2019

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Audience Member

Meh, it passed time.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

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Roee Messinger

Director

Roee Messinger

Producer

Alena Svyatova

Producer

James A. Jenkins

Executive Producer

Ralph Richardson

Executive Producer

Ari Rothschild

Cinematographer

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Synopsis

Real-life prosecutors and defense attorneys conduct an unscripted mock trial against the NYPD officer who was videotaped using a chokehold on Eric Garner in 2014, using the actual evidence, witnesses, expert testimony and rules of criminal procedure.

Director: Roee Messinger
Producer: Roee Messinger, Alena Svyatova
Production Co: Platonic Films, Plural Image Films
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Runtime: 1h 40m

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