The Interrupters DVD Review

The Interrupters

Reviewed by Gavin Hewitt

The Interrupters is a documentary showing first hand the consequences of violence and revenge on the streets of Chicago. Over the course of a year the documentary follows three ‘violence interrupters’, their intentions to stop arguments by intervening before words escalate into violence on the streets.

The documentary does not hide away from the grim reality of gang culture, showing us first hand the devastating consequences.

We follow three interrupters over the course of the feature, Ameena Matthews, Cobe Williams and Eddie Bocanegra. Each has a history with gangs so they never come across as condescending or ever feel like they are lecturing the viewer. However the run away ‘star’ of this documentary has to be Ameena Matthews, her tone, the way she relates to the gang members is simple, yet heartfelt and found myself waiting until she was back on screen.

I would recommend this documentary to anyone. I went into this with little inclination into the subject matter, however I found myself gripped for the whole duration and genuinely wanted to know more after it finished.

The DVD has some great little outtakes from the filming. I would of liked to have seen a directors commentary over the documentary as an extra, but this is perhaps being picky as the feature has plenty of social commentary in it.

Rating 4/5

Watch trailer here.

Buy from Amazon here.