At the Ready

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1:44

At the Ready

2021

1h 36m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

90%

Tomatometer

30 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Ten miles from the Mexican border, students at Horizon High School in El Paso, Texas, are enrolling in law enforcement classes and joining a unique after-school activity: the criminal justice club. Through mock-ups of drug raids and active-shooter takedowns, they inch closer to their desired careers in Border Patrol, policing, and customs enforcement. We follow Mexican American students Kassy and Cesar and recent graduate Cristina as they navigate the complications inherent in their chosen path and discover their choices may clash with the values and people they hold most dear.

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Critics Consensus

At the Ready takes the audience inside a fascinating -- and often unsettling -- collision between politics, education, and law enforcement.

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Monica Castillo

RogerEbert.com

10/25/2021

3.5/4

A dose of sobering insight.

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Carlos Aguilar

TheWrap

10/22/2021

Plays like a frightening but necessary exposé of state-sanctioned copaganda targeting young people from marginalized backgrounds to groom them into instruments of their very oppressor.

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Adrienne Hunter

Austin Chronicle

10/21/2021

3.5/5

Crow is so successful in patiently capturing subjects like Kassy, placed in extremely difficult positions, in a grounded manner that illustrates how nuanced the contexts of these issues are.

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Vadim Rizov

Filmmaker Magazine

11/29/2022

That somewhat rote humanizing is no match for the grim framework in which the kids' personal/political lives are processed—every time the film's core premise cuts through the character scaffolding, it's startling.

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Ema Sasic

Next Best Picture

06/21/2022

6/10

"At the Ready" doesn't capture all the details, but it still does show an interesting introspective journey.

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Joanne Laurier

World Socialist Web Site

04/18/2022

The films drama plays out against images of President Donald Trump spewing his xenophobic filth.

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dave d

@RT34924333 01/27/2022

Maisie Crow's sophomore venture into filmmaking is a clear indication that sometimes you grow up and become someone different. The film's focus is three high school kids from El Paso who all want careers in Law Enforcement. The problem with the documentary is the focus. One kid's story pops. The other is ok and the third is wedged in. The teachers of the students and their backstory is glossed over, but what we learn is generally fascinating. There are moments that are depressing and moments that are illuminating, but the story rings true. When we get police officers we're not getting our best, we're getting bullies and people that seek out power and a gun. The training is all wrong, and this film accidentally hits that note, but doesn't capitalize. A mixed bag, but mostly positives. Final Score: 8/10

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Maisie Crow

Director

Maisie Crow

Producer

Abbie Perrault

Producer

Hillary Pierce

Producer

Roberto Grande

Executive Producer

Justin Lacob

Executive Producer

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At the Ready: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Ten miles from the Mexican border, students at Horizon High School in El Paso, Texas, are enrolling in law enforcement classes and joining a unique after-school activity: the criminal justice club. Through mock-ups of drug raids and active-shooter takedowns, they inch closer to their desired careers in Border Patrol, policing, and customs enforcement. We follow Mexican American students Kassy and Cesar and recent graduate Cristina as they navigate the complications inherent in their chosen path and discover their choices may clash with the values and people they hold most dear.

Director: Maisie Crow
Producer: Maisie Crow, Abbie Perrault, Hillary Pierce
Distributor: Gravitas Ventures
Production Co: Concordia Studio, Anonymous Content, XTR, Ford Foundation - Just Films
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 22, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 22, 2021
Runtime: 1h 36m