“1992” is less a crime thriller set in the wrong place at the wrong time than it is an examination of social imbalance and unconscious bias. – Elements of Madness

“When people show you who they are, believe them.”

– Oprah quotes Maya Angelou

29.April^th1992: After seven days of deliberation, a jury acquitted the four police officers involved in the beating of Rodney King, with three of the four being acquitted of the charge of excessive use of force. Thousands of miles away in Virginia, even I, as an 11-year-old, knew that this was an outrageous mockery of justice, so the public outcry of anger made sense. At least until the riots began. I couldn't make sense of it then, but it makes sense now. If the system doesn't work for everyone, but only for a select few, the mounting pressure will eventually require some relief. Based on a story by Sascha Penn (The secret lives of husbands and wives) and with a screenplay by Penn and director Ariel Vromen (The Iceman), the crime thriller 1992 uses the burgeoning unrest to examine social imbalances, unconscious biases and family relationships. By basing the film on a real event fraught with great racial tension, 1992 comes with expectations that the film largely fulfills thanks to the efforts of its dynamic cast.

Tyrese Gibson as Mercer in the 1992 action, crime, thriller film, a Lionsgate film. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

Mercer Bey (Tyrese Gibson) has been out of prison for six months and is working hard to provide for his son Antoine (Christopher A'mmanuel), who is still in high school. He works in the maintenance department of a factory. It's not a glamorous job, but it allows Mercer to provide for himself while he tries to get his life together. Meanwhile, in another part of Los Angeles, former soldier Riggin (Scott Eastwood) brings his father Lowell (Ray Liotta), a thief, a job that could be such a big hit that he no longer has to take orders, in the very factory where Mercer works. Using the societal chaos as a cover, Riggin leads a small group into the factory with the intention of robbing them of their platinum supplies. Little does he know that Mercer is taking Antoine to work with him to protect him. So fathers and sons are at a crossroads, trying to survive the encounter.

Scott Eastwood as Riggin Bigby in the 1992 action, crime, thriller film, a Lionsgate film. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

1992 is not quite the film that the marketing sells it as, and that could prove disastrous. If you believe the marketing, 1992 Is Die Hard (1988) in a factory where Mercer fights Lowell in hand-to-hand combat. The truth is much more interesting and character-driven, as the confrontation becomes a powder keg before the two sets of families meet thanks to the exploding activity on the streets of LA. While the marketing suggests the film is a game of cat and mouse, the first hour of the 90-plus minutes is about getting to know the characters, setting the stage for events, and getting Riggin into the factory long before Mercer arrives. So instead of making it seem (via the marketing) that 1992 uses the real event as a kind of tasteless cover for a film about a robbery gone wrong, 1992 goes much deeper into the racial inequality of the time and asks difficult questions, especially when so little has changed in the 32 years that followed. One need look no further than Liotta's (Goodfellas; Cocaine Bear) Lowell, who, unaware of the irony, berates the rioters in the street for not respecting other people's property and coldly refers to the participants as “animals” while he is driving a van to steal $10 million worth of platinum from a factory. It is this inequality that 1992 and allows the work to go beyond the marketing implications and emerge as a thoughtful and engaging work.

This is largely due to the cross-connections the narrative employs leading up to the confrontation. Mercer is introduced first, the exposition occurs naturally as the audience is shown Gibson at a table, speaking to someone who we can safely assume is a parole officer based on the dialogue we hear. Next, we can tell from the way he and Antoine interact that there is a conflict even before Antoine expresses his frustration with their living situation, but has not yet reached the point of no return. It is similar when we go back to our first meeting with Riggin via his conversation with Clé Bennetts (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) Copeland, the physical portrayal and dialogue convey familiarity and comfort between the two, the discussion showing the discord between him and Lowell, Riggin's lack of desire to do any kind of dirty work (thereby illustrating a huge philosophical divide between Riggin and Lowell), and the realization that the work they do isn't honest. These introductions set the stage for the little details we get either through character interaction (Mercer confronting two kids pulling guns in a supermarket) or production design (Riggin at home, where we can see his memorabilia from his time in the service), a prime example of showing vs. telling, demonstrating that these two men aren't so dissimilar, even if their methods are fundamentally different. These choices allow the audience to buy into the stakes these characters are setting and allow a simple story about a robbery in the wrong place at the wrong time to be filled with complexity, especially when one realizes that the true character correlation is not Mercer/Riggin, but Mercer/Lowell and their respective family ties.

LR: Ori Pfeffer as Murphy, Dylan Arnold as Dennis, Ray Liotta as Lowel, Clé Bennett as Copeland, Scott Eastwood as Riggin Bigby and Oleg Taktarov as Titus in the 1992 action, crime, thriller film, a Lionsgate film. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

Gibson has been working for decades now and his reputation on screen is that of a fast-talking, funny man, a term made famous by his work as Roman Pearce in the Fast Sagain which he has played a significant role in recent years. He has always had the potential for dramatic work, a personal favorite being his role as Angel Mercer in 2005's The Last Man. Four brothers (though that role also included a bit of comedic work). Here, however, Mercer is stoic, thoughtful, and aware that the cards he's been dealt are unfair but also of his own making. It's not important for the audience to know exactly what he did to get to prison, but what matters is how he responds to the way others on the street talk about him versus how the man who hired him at the factory, Joseph Francis (Michael Beasley), responds. In the first part, Gibson gives Mercer a quiet defiance, an admission that who he was, who the street thinks he is, is no longer who he wants to be, either for himself or for his son. In the second part, Gibson allows Mercer to relax, to chat, to exist as a human being in the world who embraces his responsibilities and his possibilities. Through these reactions, Gibson gives Mercer a shape that makes everything that comes later, all the measures Mercer takes to protect his son and himself, a true sacrifice.

Christopher A'mmanuel as Antoine in the 1992 action, crime, thriller film, a Lionsgate film. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

As strong as the film is, it's still a little odd to see a real-life event as the backdrop for this story. Racist components play a large role, with the riots serving not just as a cover but as an opportunity to highlight what a bitch Lowell is and how deeply embedded racism is in the United States of America. At times the script is overt, at times subtle, but the way Lowell distinguishes “good guys” from “bad guys” and adjusts his behavior toward them speaks volumes about the film's message. It certainly helps that Liotta doesn't hold back vocally or physically in his final film before his death, showing why his roles are often discussed with reverence. In that regard, viewers expecting a solid crime thriller might be frustrated to learn how much of 1992 is character work, while those looking for a period drama might struggle with the contrived robbery. As a result, 1992 doesn't necessarily captivate and hold its audience, but those who are open to it and willing to delve deeper than the surface will discover a depth backed by strong performances that can inspire complex conversations in the audience after the credits roll.

In cinemas from 30 August^th2024.

For more information, visit the official Lionsgate website. 1992 Website.

Final score: 3.5 out of 5.

Categories: In the cinema, Reviews

Tags: 1992, Ariel Vromen, Christopher A'mmanuel, Clé Bennett, crime, Death Row Pictures, drama, Dylan Arnold, Kodiak Pictures, Michael Beasley, Oleg Taktarov, Ori Pfeffer, Ray Liotta, Sascha Penn, Scott Eastwood, Sumatra Films, thriller, Tosin Morohunfola, Trident Films, Tyrese Gibson