Kings

Turkish director Deniz Gamze Erguven's first feature Mustang was nominated for a best foreign language Oscar in 2016 but her English-language debut in which a single mother (Halle Berry) and her neighbour (Daniel Craig) form an unlikely alliance during the LA Riots of 1992, is less likely to attract such kudos. There are few backdrops as powerful as the fallout from the infamous Rodney King trial, but Erguven fails to capture the significance of that event or the gravity of racial unrest in the US at the time. The drama unfolds as a series of violent scenes devoid of subtlety, while any building tension is ruined by peculiar dream sequences and awkward romantic subplots. There are also moments of ill-judged humour, too, such as a fast-food employee pleading for his restaurant, so by the time the riots are sparked, any sense of impending dread is absent. Berry and Craig work well as a duo, even if their main purpose is to run about and scream at things. Unfortunately, Kings is a clumsily etched portrayal of a dark chapter in history, which is more likely to confuse than educate.