One of the worst to happen to anyone is being accused of something that you didn’t do. Much more be charged for a criminal offense like drug dealing and then realized that you are not just against a person but against a government system. The American Violet is a story about a single mother who is working hard to support her four kids and got arrested for a charge on drug dealing. Although she doesn’t have any prior drug record and there were no evidence found against her, Dee Roberts (Nicole Beharie) a 24 year old African American woman working to make ends meet from a small town in Texas got dumped in the women county jail and was offered two choices by the powerful local District Attorney (Academy Award Nominee Michael O’Keefe): plead guilty and go home as a convicted felon or remain in prison, jeopardizing he custody and risking a long prison sentence.

Determined to prove her innocence and clear her name, Dee decided to fight the District Attorney and the unyielding criminal justice system. Her courage had brought challenges and changes to both her life and the Texas Justice System. I guess that’s what separates the brave from the coward. The brave have the courage to face their challenges in life even if the future that lay ahead is unclear. They do what they think is right and stand by it even if the people around them to do otherwise. Just like in Dee’s case. Losing her case with the District Attorney would mean conviction, a longer prison sentence and loss the custody of her four kids which is much heavier if you compare it to pleading guilty, although she will be marked as a felon; she still has the custody of her kids which is why her mom (Alfre Woodard) would rather have her take the offer of the DA.

Which if you come to think of it, in our society you will be tagged as a criminal until proven otherwise when charged for a crime and worse judge you just because you got imprisoned even though the justice department cleared your name. So what the difference does it make right? Joining Nicole Beharie in this film aside from the ones that were mentioned above are Tim Blake Nelson, Will Patton, Xzibit, and Charles Dutton. I hope that by watching this movie people will stop and think before charging anyone or blaming someone about something for these things does not just affect those involved but affect the kids as well who are innocent and cannot fully understand what’s going on around them.

They become the helpless victims who cannot and will not be able to defend themselves because of the actions of that we do.
  

Movie Statistics:
Directed by Tim Disney
Produced by Bill Haney
Written by Bill Haney
Starring: Nicole Beharie, Will Patton, Alfre Woodard, Michael O’Keefe, Tim Blake Nelson, Xzibit
Cinematography: Steve Yedlin
Editing by Nancy Richardson
Distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Films
Released on April 17, 2009
Duration: 103 min.
Language: English
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closeAuthor: Aarti Bhardwaj
Name: Aarti Bhardwaj

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