Following the releases of The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, surely two of the best American films in recent memory, there seemed to be a sense that the unparalleled Kathryn Bigelow suddenly became a political director. There was a sense that films as clearly beholden to genre as Point Break, Blue Steel, Near Dark, and Strange Days could not also be vibrantly, even viciously political because they didn't deal directly with political or societal events. And yet, Point Break deals with the complexities of the masculine hero as much as The Hurt Locker, and Blue Steel brings similarly startling thoughts of being a female in a classically male profession as Zero Dark Thirty. All of Bigelow's films are political; in fact, all films are political, by nature. Still, there's no denying that her next movie, based on the five-day Detroit riots of 1967, openly reflects timely societal concerns, and today, Bigelow added three major actors to the
Still, there's no denying that her next movie, based on the five-day Detroit riots of 1967, openly reflects timely societal concerns, and today, Bigelow added three major actors to the drama: Jack Reynor of the recent Sing Street, Ben O'Toole of Mel Gibson's upcoming Hacksaw Ridge, and Will Poulter, who was set to play Pennywise in the new adaptation of Stephen King's It until recently. It's unclear right now how they will figure into the movie, but my hunch says that at least two of them will be playing police officers. We'll have to wait to get any real kind of confirmation, as this film is still very much in the early stages. Annapurna is footing the bill right now and starting to seek a distributor, which I imagine won't take all that long considering Bigelow's Oscar-friendly history. She certainly has a good cast going so far. Reynor and Poulter have both proven to be dramatically engaging in a number of projects, and though I've only seen him in the not-so-sufferable The Water Diviner, O'Toole certainly has a quality that makes you want to keep your eyes peeled.