Crown Heights tells the true story of Colin Warner (Lakeith Stanfield), a young man who is wrongfully convicted of murder in 1980 and serves 21 years of a 15 to life sentence, and his childhood friend, Carl "KC" King (Nnamdi Asomugha, also one of the film's producers), persistence and determination to have Colin released from prison. It is a revealing story about the fraudulent lengths the criminal justice system will go to for a conviction, even with knowledge that they are sending an innocent man to prison. With actual clips of speeches from Reagan, Bush, and Clinton embedded within the film at different times of Colin's imprisonment, the film speaks to the impact their "war on crime" has had on communities of color with things such as mandatory sentences.
While the center of the story is Colin's 21 years locked up, the heart of the film takes place outside of the prison where KC refuses to give up on securing Colin's freedom. He raises money, takes out loans, jeopardizing his finances, and even risks losing his own family. He even becomes a legal courier to find and acquire the services of another attorney to continue the fight for Colin's freedom. Ultimately, he finds himself having to reinvestigate the case and locate the witnesses, as attempts to appeal based on technicalities were fruitless. Additionally, the film shares the story of Colin's relationship with Antoinette (Natalie Paul), who reenters Colin's life while he is in prison and becomes another source of support and his future wife.
The film provides glimpses into key portions of Colin's imprisonment, Colin's relationship with Antoinette, and KC's fight for Colin's release from prison. And the brief dream sequences and flashbacks add to your level of empathy with the plight of an innocent person in prison, especially with him waking up saying to himself, "Please don't let it be a cell." Though outside of this, it does feel like most of the time the film is showing you the facts of the case without connecting you emotionally to the characters; which in some ways can be a major missed opportunity for the film. However, it is not easy to cover 20+ years in 99 minutes, and overall, the film does the story justice factually while attempting to somewhat convey what it is like to be an innocent man in prison (which cannot truly be conveyed outside of actually experiencing it).
8.5/10