Genre: Drama
Number of episodes: 4
Year: 2019
Starring: Assante Blackk, Caleel Harris, Ethan Herisse, Jharrel Jerome, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Marquis Rodriguez, Kylie Bunbury, Aunjanua Ellis, Vera Farmiga, Felicity Huffman, William Sadler, John Leguizamo, Famke Janssen, Joshua Jackson, Niecy Nash, Michael Kenneth Williams, Justin Cunningham, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, Freddy Miyares
Description: Chronicles a true story of a notorious case of five black teenagers who were convicted of a rape they did not commit. Review: The world knows the story of the “Central Park Five”, the five boys (four black, one latino) that were convicted for the rape of a white woman in Central park, New York City in 1989. Director Ava DuVernay retells their story in the four-part series “When They See Us”. After the release on Netflix, it was labeled as ‘the horror film for the black community’. And I understand why, because it’s a tragic and depressing story.
The series opens light hearted, with the daily life of the five boys. Young and innocent, “Fight the Power” by Public Enemy is playing in the background, a group of mostly black teens are hanging in Central Park.
But it’s only six minutes that DuVernay spends on the innocent youth of Antron (15), Kevin (14), Korey (16), Raymond (14) and Yusef (15). Enough to get sympathy for each of them. And that’s when the horror starts for the boys.
In the first episode we see how they boys are taken to the police station, as suspects of a rape. And how the detectives work in selecting the five. We see how they manipulate the boys into saying things they don’t want, pointing to the others as the suspect. They were interrogated for hours, without getting any food, rest or bathroom breaks and without an adult being present. And if they tell the cops what they want to hear, they are promised to go home. For the five boys, lying is the only option, because all they want is to go home.
The second episode focuses on the trial and the verdict. All the testimonies, from all the boys, conflict. And no physical evidence was found to connect the boys to the crime. It’s clear they are all innocent, they didn’t commit the crime. And still they will get convicted. Donald Trump even advertised to bring back the death penalty, especially for these boys.
In the third episode we see how Antron, Raymond, Yusef and Kevin deal with their time in jail and how they are affected by it still when they are released. How hard it is for them to join society again, find a job, start a relationship, their damaged bond with their families. Each of them deal with it differently. For example, Yusef devotes his life to religion. And Kevin, who always was a good boy, eventually becomes a crook because everyone sees him like that anyway. Both the portrayal of the young and adult actors are convincing, touching and strong.
In the final episode, it’s totally focusing on Korey. He wasn’t arrested in the first place, but decided to accompany his friend Yusef when he was picked up. He just happened to be at the police station and the cops decided to use him as ‘the glue to their shaky story’. Since he is the only 16 year old, he is convicted as an adult, instead of being send to a juvenile prison. And he was incarcerated the longest. Korey was abused and molested and spend most of his years in solitary. Jharrel Jerome is the only actor that played both the young and adult version of his character. Impressive performance.
Not only were they convicted for a crime they didn’t commit, they were sentenced for life. Because it scarred them for life. Everyone will always see them as criminals, they won’t be able to get a license or a good job. Relationships will suffer from it. The boys eventually were acquitted for their crimes, but it still feels bittersweet. Because a big part of their life has been taken from them, their freedom was taken from them. And only because cops where seeking justice for a crime and convicted the wrong people who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong place and it seemed convenient.
A series like “When They See Us” is necessary. In a country were black and latino men have more chance of getting into jail than white men, and where Donald Trump has the big stage. The series doesn’t only tell the story of this one case, DuVernay points to the entire justice system. And it’s a realistic fear. People like Linda Fairstein and Elizabeth Lederer ruined a lot of lives because of it.
“When They See Us” is a powerful, heartbreaking, tragic story that everyone should see. They should show it at schools and to people who still think the world is just.
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