One word that came to mind repeatedly during Craig Atkinson’s powerful Do Not Resist is “immediacy”.

This is the film that we can imagine will provoke the strongest response in most audience members, (and perhaps a stronger response from those that do not agree with its central thesis)

In its relatively short running time, Do Not Resist manages to do quite a bit. It takes its viewers to Ferguson during the height of the riots, allows us access into meetings to determine how much force for is necessary for SWAT raids, to pep talks given by police cHiggs, and Barack Obama even makes an appearance, though not his finest moment to be sure.

In essence, if the audience member is already on the side of the filmmaker, or needs some gentle convincing, not a moment is wasted in this indictment of the militarization of the police, originally begun as a response to the aggressive nature of police action as a result of the 2013 Boston Marathon.

Though the title likely  refers to a Biblical Passage about turning the other cheek, being swept up in the immediacy of the film is also something to which we do not resist.

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