Crown Heights

R

Released Aug 18, 2017

1 hr. 36 min.

Biography

Crime

Drama

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List

77%

84 Reviews

Tomatometer

77%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

In 1980, police in Brooklyn, N.Y., charge teenage immigrant Colin Warner with murder. Convicted for a crime he didn't commit, Colin spends years in prison while his friend Carl King fights for the young man's freedom.

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Critics Consensus

Crown Heights' heartbreaking fact-based narrative -- and LaKeith Stanfield's remarkable starring performance -- push this powerful drama past its structural flaws.

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Alec B

It loses steam by the time it gets around to the investigation and exoneration portion of the movie. The reason is that this shift in the narrative forces the filmmakers to abandon their far more moving examination of the slow, agonizing way the criminal justice system and prison dehumanizes those trapped within them.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/03/24

Full Review

Andrea C

Dramma tratto da una storia vera, in un ambito molto sfruttato dal cinema moderno per l'alto impatto emotivo in grado di creare. Comunque "Crown Heights" riesce a ritagliarsi un ruolo differente; molto più intimo rispetto alla media, si concentra soprattutto sulla personalità e sulle relazioni del protagonista, lasciando in secondo piano per lunga parte l'aspetto giudiziario, che diventa protagonista solo nel finale e che resta comunque la parte più debole della pellicola per sviluppo e capacità di colpire. Lakeith Stanfield è una gradita sorpresa in un ruolo da protagonista molto lontano dal suo background; riesce a colpire soprattutto per l'intensità e la tristezza del suo sguardo, ponendo sempre in secondo piano la fisicità. Un dramma senza grande budget che risulta ben eseguito in quasi tutti i suoi aspetti; forse con un finale troppo precipitoso dal punto di vista giudiziario, in cui manca enfasi.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/22/23

Full Review

Aleksander B

Did not expect something of this quality from Amazon. Good to see LaKeith Stanfield smashing another performance. Definitely worth watching.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/07/22

Full Review

Audience Member

this is a highly relevant story, and well acted/shot, but i feel that the score was unnecessarily somber and many scenes were just too long and slow, while other potentially more entertaining elements of the story were glossed over in a few vignettes. i must have hit fast forwards 10s 100 times, and most of the time i missed absolutely nothing but somebody walking or sitting for 10, 20, 30, 40 seconds longer than they had to, presumably just to fit the scene to the excessive score. of course since it's a true story i don't want things to be unnecessarily embellished for entertainment value, but the genre kind of necessitates a little bit of this - i don't think anyone wants to just listen to sad piano songs for 2 hours, and i would much rather have seen more of what the protagonist was doing in prison than this sort of scattered series of skits with multiple years passing between them. his activities are described, but not depicted for more than a few seconds aside from a couple of beatings, and it seems the majority of the film takes place in hallways or the visitation room. most people have seen a thousand movies about wrongful conviction and prison life, and frankly almost no one who watches those movies wants them to get too feelsy in such a way, because too many movies have already tried to do this. the end product is frankly boring, and i would much rather watch a documentary about this man than watch this movie, even though i generally like lakeith. i feel that they basically told the story of his court case without allowing the audience to know anything else about the character other than that he was jamaican. a little after the 1 hour mark it gets more interesting and the score becomes more listenable, but there isn't a ton of the movie left after that. it really feels to me that the director put far too little focus on the man's experience and too much on the overall narrative as if it were an article written today to fit on one or two pages, but there must have been plenty of other important events over the course of all the years this man spent inside.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A well made and wonderfully acted docudrama about the true life story of Colin Warner, a black man who was wrongfully convicted of murder. His best friend spends his life trying to prove his friends innocence. It seems like this is a story that has been told to some degree often. It's still a strong message about our criminal justice system is flawed and stirs the embers of racism. LaKeith Stanfield is excellent in the lead.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

Audience Member

With an absolute transcendent performance from LaKeith Stanfield which totally makes up for the fact the film is a little underwritten. This follows the true story of Colin Warner just another to fall victim to persecution only dude to the way he looks. One thing leads to another wrong time wrong place scenario Colin finds himself wrongly convicted of murder, the type of crime Colin is not capable of. Nevertheless he is faced with a rather lengthy prison sentence for a crime he truly did not commit. You can only imagine before this film what it really may look like to have to endure prison knowing or a fact you don't belong there. His best friend Carl King knows the facts and devotes his life to somehow fins a way to prove Colin's innocence. Here we see yet another powerfully touching role here played by former cornerback in the NFL Nnamdi Asomugha believe it or not. Only having a few acting credits himself his performance was rather impressive and really personifies what it really means to be ‘Best friends for life.' I also love the fact that the film really makes an effort to focus on the broken prison system exclusively as opposed to racial tones as at this point it's been shown so much racism is to be assumed at this point. Also shows great insight on the connection to the brokenness in also the judicial system and flat out Policing in general. The question remains if Carl has what it takes to find this ‘Needle in a haystack' solution and can Colin survive a hell hole while living with the fact he shouldn't be there disallowing him to just fall in line.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

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Matt Ruskin

Director

LaKeith Stanfield

Colin Warner

Nnamdi Asomugha

Carl King

Natalie Paul

Antoinette

Amari Cheatom

Leon Grant

Skylan Brooks

Thomas

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Crown Heights: Trailer 1

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Hannah Strong

Movie Marker

It's an impressive, quietly powerful film that will stay with you long after the final credits roll.

Aug 30, 2018

Full Review

Soraya Nadia McDonald

Andscape

The film just isn't biting enough to make Warner a mascot for the race-based injustice that pervades the American criminal justice system.

Sep 26, 2017

Full Review

Scott Marks

San Diego Reader

The sole fresh twist, one that should have been more than enough to drive the show - one friend dedicating his life to exonerating the other - is repeatedly undermined by their unequal presentation.

Rated: 2/5

Sep 9, 2017

Full Review

Alex Flood

NME (New Musical Express)

Buy tickets if you want emotional storytelling which sheds light on a serious and recurring problem in society.

May 18, 2021

Full Review

Leigh Monson

Substream Magazine

Colin Warner's story deserves to be heard, but it also deserved a better presentation that kept its audience's engagement.

Rated: 1/5

Sep 25, 2020

Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

A good film telling a great story.

Rated: 3.0/4.0

Sep 5, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

In 1980, police in Brooklyn, N.Y., charge teenage immigrant Colin Warner with murder. Convicted for a crime he didn't commit, Colin spends years in prison while his friend Carl King fights for the young man's freedom.

Director: Matt Ruskin
Executive Producer: Jonathan Baker, Joshua Blum, Lila Yacoub, Anya Bourg, Avy Kaufman, Alissa Shipp
Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin
Distributor: IFC Films, Amazon Studios
Production Co: Iam21 Entertainment
Rating: R (Language|Violence|Some Sexuality/Nudity)
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 18, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 14, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $236.4K
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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