- Network: Netflix
- Series Premiere Date: May 31, 2019
Critic Reviews
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DuVernay’s four-episode series is a darkly-filmed tale that sometimes reads like a courtroom drama and expertly alternates between tense, moving and, at times, lighter-hearted moments.
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As it is, the many excellent small performances in “When They See Us” feel especially small because of the series’ ambitious sweep. There are a lot of full characters here, but we only get partial views of them, and the interplay between the poetic evocations of these individual souls and the grand indictment of the criminal-justice system is rarely as compelling as one might like.
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When They See Us is a handsomely mounted dramatization of the plight of these boys, of what was taken away from them due to their being targets of systemic racism. ... As a piece of narrative storytelling, though, the series hits its thematic targets with such repetition at such close range that you begin to question the point of dragging this exercise to over four hours.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 89 out of 113
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Mixed: 4 out of 113
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Negative: 20 out of 113
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May 31, 2019and the racistss, trumpists, right wing-pseudo movie critics are coming
DO NOT READ THE OTHER CRITCS OF THE USERS -
Jun 2, 2019A powerful and disturbing depiction of the shortcomings of the US criminal justice system. Ava DuVernay's When They See Us is a must-see.
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Jun 3, 2019Amazing work, episode 4 broke me. The actor playing Korey is heartbreakingly brilliant.