Clockers

A young man selling drugs on the street in Brooklyn draws police attention after his older brother confesses to a killing. The detective does not believe the confession. The film does not set up who committed the crime as a puzzle; the narrative is most interested in why getting out of where he is looks impossible. The bench between the housing blocks is used as the centre the whole film returns to. Spike Lee directed, with Harvey Keitel, John Turturro and Mekhi Phifer, adapting Richard Price's novel; Martin Scorsese is among the producers. A real warning: gun violence and images of bodies are shown openly. The drug trade is also described in detail.