Plot
A single African-American mother struggles to clear her name after being wrongly accused and arrested for dealing drugs in an impoverished town in Texas.
Release Year: 2008
Rating: 6.7/10 (1,045 voted)
Critic's Score: 56/100
Director:
Tim Disney
Stars: Nicole Beharie, Will Patton, Alfre Woodard
Storyline A single African-American mother struggles to clear her name after being wrongly accused and arrested for dealing drugs in an impoverished town in Texas.
Cast: Nicole Beharie
-
Dee Roberts
Will Patton
-
Sam Conroy
Alfre Woodard
-
Alma Roberts
Michael O'Keefe
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Calvin Beckett
Tim Blake Nelson
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David Cohen
Scott A. Martin
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Jerry Arnold
Malcolm Barrett
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Byron Hill
Jackson Beals
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Officer Carter
Michael Beasley
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Tony Flair
Samantha Beaulieu
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Mrs. Lloyd
Tody Bernard
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Judge Pryor
Allen Boudreaux
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Lawyer
Jeanne Bourgeois
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Reporter #1
Andrew Buchler
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Deposition Videographer
Kesha Bullard
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Angry Woman
Opening Weekend: $243,162
(USA)
(19 April 2009)
(61 Screens)
Gross: $552,933
(USA)
(7 June 2009)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
USA:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
Based on the Regina Kelly v. John Paschall case in Hearne, Texas.
Goofs:
Anachronisms:
When Dee is driving to work she honks her horn at a Pontiac G6 that pulls out in front of her. The G6 was not in production until 2005. The movie makes several references to the 2000 election that was upcoming.
User Review
An Important and compelling story that needed to be told
Rating: 8/10
I was honored to have the opportunity to catch a screening of American
Violet's Texas premiere at the Paramount Theatre during Austin's SXSW
Film Festival. The film tells the important story of Dee Roberts drug
arrest in Melody, Texas in 2000. The story of the abuse of power by the
criminal justice system is an important one that most Americans are not
terribly familiar with. The story is generally well-acted and
compelling as we are drawn through the story of Dee's clearly false
arrest and prosecution. The line between fact and dramatic license does
remain a little foggy and there is particularly unbelievable scene in
which the local district attorney acts as some sort of family court
judge who oversees a hearing to determine the custody of Dee's 4
children.
The legal focus of the film does tend to bounce around from one issue
to another – the problem of forced plea bargaining, the misuse of
Federal drug task forces, the use of dishonest informants, the problem
of fighting a "war on drugs," and finally focusing on blatant racism of
District Attorney. All of these issues are certainly present in the
criminal justice system, but the relationship and role of each is often
confusingly presented and blurs the legal focus of the film.
Nevertheless, the story remains powerful and the presentation is a
potent one.
Regardless of the limitations, some of which are inherent in the
criminal docudrama, the film is well worth seeing, because of the
important story that it tells about complex interaction between race,
poverty and the criminal justice system that is often obscured from the
view of much of the American public. The film deserves to be seen by
those who still doubt the critical role of racism in American society -
particularly in the criminal justice system.
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