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[Malyse]

Release dates: April 21, 2017 (limited in theatres), April 28, 2017 (9PM ET, ABC)
Studio: Imagine Entertainment
Director: John Ridley
MPAA Rating: N/A
Screenwriter: John Ridley
Starring: N/A
Genre: Documentary
Official website: letitfallmovie.com

In April of 1992, America’s worst civil disturbance in the 20th century took place in Los Angeles. Sparked by the acquittal of four LAPD officers tried for the near-fatal beating of black motorist Rodney King and fueled by racial tension, growing despair surrounding the economic climate, and a deep-seated distrust of law enforcement, the riots left the city devastated. LET IT FALL takes an unflinching look at the 1992 L.A. uprising tracing its roots back a decade, unfolding its history as a series of very personal decisions and very public failures. The film weaves heartbreaking first hand accounts from black, white, Asian, and Hispanic Angelinos of all classes, caught up in a cascade of rising tension culminating in an explosion of anger and fear after the Rodney King verdict.

Reviews:

Deadline:

But like ESPN’s Oscar-winning O.J.: Made In America, it’s Ridley’s April 28-airing collaboration with ABC News that takes a real new look at a tale we think we know but only barely gleam in many ways. Let It Fall, which will get a bi-coastal theatrical release April 21, reaches into L.A.’s past for the voices that were there in ’92 to uncover what happened and where it all came from. The shift in LAPD policies in regard to nightsticks and the sweeps and reign of terror of then-LAPD chief Daryl Gates are but three elements that the 12 Years A Slave screenwriter uses to construct the kindling that the King verdict lit. Add to that new perspectives on the much-filmed event from the media capital, and the deftly orchestrated documentary builds up a narrative that feels intimate as well as historical.

The Hollywood Reporter

With his filmmaking collaborators, he lays out an elegantly organized timeline of critical moments in the psyche of a city whose star was rising even as it was rattled by gang warfare and the prevalence of crack. Through the reminiscences of witnesses and survivors, he gives the collision of crime, fear and ultra-aggressive policing new urgency and dimension. Like journalist Jill Leovy's indispensable book Ghettoside, Let It Fall is an astute portrait of Los Angeles and, in turn, American racial politics, viewed through the prism of the legal system and its effect on lives — a work that's troubling and illuminating and shattering in its compassion.

Common Sense Media

Even though the main events took place 25 years ago, the film feels distressingly current, with its focus on race relations and police brutality. Ridley goes to great lengths to connect the dots from 1982 to 1992, showing the rage that was bubbling just under the surface in Los Angeles and why it finally had to explode. The movie is long, well over two hours, but there's lots of ground to cover, and it never feels tiresome. Instead, it's heartbreaking. The film is anchored by detailed, often emotional interviews with people who were there, as well those who lost loved ones during the riots or other incidents that led up to them. The amazing trick of Let It Fall is the way everyone has a way to explain why they made certain decisions -- in hindsight, some of them were clearly the wrong call, but giving the interviewees enough time on camera humanizes them. You can see what they were thinking at the time, which is part of why the film is still, sadly, so relevant today.

Let It Fall doesn't address the current landscape. It doesn't have to, because so many of the issues it explores in depth are just as relevant today. The film details how the 1992 riots can be traced to incidents from a decade earlier. Now, more than two decades later, it's clear that the same issues are still at play. And, years from now, this amazing movie will probably still be useful to see how issues that are ignored can fester for a long time until they eventually, inevitably erupt.

NY Times:

Drawing from multiple visual sources, Mr. Ridley follows the rise of gang membership and drug use, and the troubling evolution of the policing tactic known as “pain compliance” (an escalating series of actions designed to subdue a suspect). Neither blame nor absolution entices him as, again and again (eased by Colin Rich’s masterly editing), he coaxes forth the perfect, shining moment that speaks volumes.

LA Times:

Though it has its share of excellent footage from back in the day, the strength of "Let It Fall" is in its remarkable contemporary interviews, compelling both for the people recorded and the way the conversations are allowed to unfold.

The Wrap:

Ridley’s handling of the riots is exemplary, both as archival-plus-interview storytelling, and as a painful road map of scary circumstance, risky curiosity, bad decisions, and brief shining moments of rescue. A good kid grows up to throw a brick that changes his life forever. A closeted lesbian cop outs herself to her partner, defies her superiors, and saves a life. Others carry expressions that suggest, What else did you expect?

The Village Voice

Ridley weaves these people’s thoughts and voices throughout his film, identifying them only by name and a title like “South Central resident.” Most viewers won’t know, at first, what role the speakers will play in the riots to come; Ridley invites us to listen without prejudice, to be surprised, deep into the film, when one of his subjects, a black man, exhibits no remorse for beating a white motorist, or when another reports that it was the voice of God that urged him out into the conflagration at Florence and Normandie to save the life of Reginald Denny.

In those days after the misbegotten verdict in the trial of the four police officers who kicked and beat Rodney King, these Angelenos discovered what they and their neighbors were capable of. Ridley’s patient, humane approach allows us, over his film’s 145 minutes, to discover it, too.

Variety

What sets “Let It Fall” apart is its journalistic sensibility — the hallmark of the best documentaries. Ridley was joined by a team of ABC News reporters to make the ABC documentary, and it shows. “Let It Fall” goes a step further than the other films to really investigate the events of those three days, searching for patterns and clues. The other films in this collection of debuts essentially make the same major points, nearly with identical footage: King, Harlins, the Watts riots, the LAPD, and several harrowing hours at the intersection of Florence and Normandie. “Let It Fall” covers all of these things, and shares much of its archival footage and interview subjects with the other documentaries. And yet there are moments in “Let It Fall” that feel like a significant reframing of the riots, both in terms of what actually happened and in terms of who’s really to blame.

Metacritic

Rotten Tomatoes

Spoiler

Nobody tell Armond White that a black man has a 100% on RT.

 

[Kuroi Gogeta]

Ooooh nice. Hadn't heard of this at all. I remember thinking about the riots while I was watching oj Simpson made in America. I wondered if someone had made some good docs about it.

 

[Dishwalla]

Oh, this should be good. Will try and remember to watch, ABC is one of those channels I just simply never watch.

 

[KraftyKrankins]

This, OJ, 13th, I Am Not Your Negro. It's a good time for documentaries. Thanks for posting about this, haven't heard about it before but I'll make sure I watch it.

 

[EdibleKnife]

Amazing topic Mal. I really hope media like this and Detroit (crossing my fingers) help to dispel this idiotic notion that black people are riotous animals ready to pop off at the tiniest slight. Mainstream culture in general needs to understand the underlying reasons for civil distress like this.

 

[D i Z]

Good looking out on the OP. I've been looking forward to this.

 

[GustyGardens]

Hoping to watch this tomorrow. I was a kid when it happened, but I still have some pretty vivid memories of the news coverage. We lived about 15-20 minutes from where most of the stuff was going on, so it hit pretty close to home.

 

[Lkr]

Hype for this. Also recommend listening to the LAPD episodes of The Dollop podcast before watching this if you want some crazy old tales about the LAPD

 

[Blader]

Had no idea about this, but I'll definitely check it out. Is the ABC airing expected to be cut down from the theatrical version?

 

[richardhawk]

Hell yeah this looks great. One of my uncles def stole a couch that's still at my grandmothers house during the riots.

 

[Malyse]

Had no idea about this, but I'll definitely check it out. Is the ABC airing expected to be cut down from the theatrical version?

It is. Only 88 minutes IIRC

 

[guek]

I saw an ad for this at the gym, I'll definitely be checking it out.

 

[Slayven]

When I saw this i was scared they would handwave away a lot of shit, but it looks interesting

 

[RastaMentality]

This, OJ, 13th, I Am Not Your Negro. It's a good time for documentaries. Thanks for posting about this, haven't heard about it before but I'll make sure I watch it.

still need to see I Am Not Your Negro. Wish it came out on VOD also i could give it money.

 

[Malyse]

When I saw this i was scared they would handwave away a lot of shit, but it looks interesting

It's Ridley.

 

[golem]

I was a kid when it happened. Pretty strange looking downtown at the time and seeing smoke nearby. Will watch

 

[Spike Spiegel]

Reminder that this airs in two hours on the East Coast.

 

[Spike Spiegel]

It's on.

 

[Dishwalla]

Sweet, gonna watch.

 

[Malyse]

Fuck, this is rough.

 

[TiredofWinning]

Strange this is broadcast on network television

edit: watching this for the past couple minutes and this is incredible radical for network tv

edit 2: yea there's a drug commercial for opiate induced constipation. I think I'll watch this doc later cuz even the commercials are making me depressed

 

[Malyse]

Strange this is broadcast on network television

edit: watching this for the past couple minutes and this is incredible radical for network tv

edit 2: yea there's a drug commercial for opiate induced constipation. I think I'll watch this doc later cuz even the commercials are making me depressed

The theatrical cut is longer BTW.

 

[Spike Spiegel]

Powerful, at times angering, at times disturbing. I'm taken aback by some of the footage they aired during this broadcast; I can't say that I was expecting to see a 15yo girl get shot in the back of the head on ABC tonight.

 

[whitemex88]

The Korean mother and sister interviews really got me. What a great doc. Although I felt it ended sort of abruptly

 

[KraftyKrankins]

still need to see I Am Not Your Negro. Wish it came out on VOD also i could give it money.

Do it. Required viewing for everyone. Would've been my favorite at the Oscars if OJ wasn't so monumental.

 

[Malyse]

The Korean mother and sister interviews really got me. What a great doc. Although I felt it ended sort of abruptly

We did lose some of the movie for the TV cut.

 

[AuthenticM]

I will watch this.

 

[VeryGooster]

DVR'd it and watching it now. Just revisiting the Rodney King story makes my stomach turn.

 

[Realyst]

Watched the ABC version. I'm thankful for ABC airing this, but I feel like I need to see the full documentary.

It doesn't feel like this version connected all the dots. It's like it says, "there was injustice with the verdicts of the two high-profile cases, bad stuff happened as a result." It doesn't delve deeply enough into the foundation of hatred that ultimately led to this reaction.

In my opinion, the OJ documentary gave a more developed series of accounts and reactions that showed how LA spiraled towards this outcome.