American Violet DVD Review
SoHood.com Reviewed by: Lily Lee
Movie Rating:  4.0 out of 5
Extras Rating: 5 out of 5

Overview: Based on true events, American Violet tells the astonishing story of Dee Roberts (Nicole Beharie), a 24-year-old single mother of four in a small Texas town. With local and national elections just days away, a powerful District Attorney (Michael O’Keefe) orders heavily armed police to raid the housing project where she lives, making sweeping arrests.  Dee is falsely arrested and charged as a drug dealer on the uncorroborated word of a dubious police informant.

She is given the choice of pleading guilty to a crime she didn’t commit and returning home a convicted felon, or remaining in prison while she fights the charges, risking a long prison sentence and losing custody of her four daughters. Despite the urgings of her mother (Alfre Woodard), Dee decides to fight back.  And with the assistance of her Pastor (Charles Dutton), a sympathetic ACLU attorney (Nelson), and a former local narcotics officer (Will Patton), Dee takes on a battle that will change her life and the Texas justice system forever.

American Violet is a movie based on a true story regarding the drug raids and wrongful convictions of several black citizens in Melody, Texas years ago. Dee Roberts (Nicole Beharie) and District Attorney Calvin Beckett ( Michael O’Keefe) begin a legal battle between each other. Throughout the film we watch as Dee struggles to keep a job especially when Calvin Beckett uses his influences on people she then eventually gets fired. Dee’s lawyers Sam Conroy (Will Patton) and ACLU attorney David Cohen (Tim Blake Nelson) try their best to find some sort of evidence that can convince the judge that Calvin is a racist. Clearly Calvin doesn’t like black people and Dee’s lawyers eventually do get some strong evidence that Calvin couldn’t dispute.

The entire time that I watched this film, I was a bit bored cause the storyline took a while to develop but it was essential to show each character’s weakness and strength especially Dee. This film will definitely affect the spectrum of your emotions, especially if you are a minority in this country. On the same token, it’s a re-affirmation that our system still works despite it’s imperfections and there are people willing to sacrifice all to insure that injustices are corrected.