''3 1/2 Minutes, 10 Bullets'', also known as ''3 1/2 Minutes'', is a 2015 American

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

written and directed by Marc Silver. The film is based on the events surrounding the 2012 murder of Jordan Russell Davis and examines the shooting itself, as well as the subsequent trial, media coverage and protests that resulted from the shooting. The film premiered under its original title ''3 1/2 Minutes'' at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2015, later winning the Special Jury Prize for Social Impact. The film was then bought by

HBO Documentary Films Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television, premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office busi ...

, and premiered on HBO on November 23, 2015. On December 1, it was one of 15 films shortlisted for the

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosoph ...

for the 2016 89th Academy Awards.

Synopsis

The film takes a look at the shooting of Jordan Davis, an African-American teenager who was shot by Michael Dunn on November 23, 2012, at a gas station in

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. The shooting was sparked by an argument between Dunn and Davis over loud rap music. Dunn would later claim in court that he believed that Davis possessed a shotgun and was going to harm him. In the film Silver examines the shooting as well as the subsequent trial, media coverage and protests that resulted from the shooting, especially those stemming from the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police br ...

movement. The film's title refers to the time between when Dunn pulled into the parking spot next to the vehicle Davis was in (seen as 7:30-7:33 PM), and how many bullets were fired (Approximately 10, from Dunn's Taurus PT 99 AF).

Production

Plans to create the documentary began when producer Minette Nelson read a 2013 ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' article about the case and Florida's

stand-your-ground law A stand-your-ground law (sometimes called "line in the sand" or "no duty to retreat" law) provides that people may use deadly force when they reasonably believe it to be necessary to defend against certain violent crimes (right of self-defense) ...

s. She contacted Silver and asked him to serve as the film's director. Through family lawyer

John Michael Phillips John Michael Phillips (born February 4, 1975) is an American lawyer, consumer and civil rights advocate, and legal commentator. He is licensed to practice law in Florida, New York, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois and Washington, DC. P ...

, Nelson and Silver met Jordan's parents Ron Davis and

Lucy McBath Lucia Kay McBath ( née Holman; born June 1, 1960) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from Georgia's 6th congressional district. The district, once represented by Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, include ...

. He became interested in the documentary after meeting the family and noting the short amount of time between Dunn's arrival and the shooting, as he felt that the three and a half minutes could be understood in two different ways: "On the one level, through the court system, you would understand what happened during those three-and-a-half minutes in a very pragmatic way. Then ou havewhat really happened in those moments on a bigger, more conceptual level." Filming took place in Jacksonville, Florida, over a nine-month period in 2013, primarily using a Canon C100. Silver and his crew gained permission to film the Dunn trial, but only if they did not film the jury, as this could have resulted in a mistrial. They agreed, and filmed the trial from the back of the courtroom.

Release

The film premiered in the US Documentary Competition at Sundance in 2015. After screenings, the film was bought by HBO, to be aired in the late fall of 2015. The official trailer for the film was released on YouTube on August 25, 2015, and the film aired on HBO on November 23, 2015 at 9 PM. It is currently available for viewing on Google Play.

Reception

Critical response

The film received universal acclaim.

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

gave the film a 100% rating based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 7.65/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "''3 And 1/2 Minutes, 10 Bullets'' tells a gut-wrenching story in overall gripping fashion -- and wisely underplays its outrage, letting the details speak for themselves."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

gave the film a weighted average score of 76/100 based on 19 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, saying "The movie's meditative quality makes you feel for everyone involved in this tragedy—even Dunn, who seems very much a prisoner of fear and anger. Where a lot of documentaries would try to stir outrage, this one just leaves you shaking your head." ''Variety'' film critic Dennis Harvey also gave the film a positive review, noting "Though there are a few odd gaps in the gripping pic, and/or perhaps in the trial itself... the assembly is tight and accomplished on all levels." ''

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...

'' film critic Aramide Tinubu gave a positive review, saying: "More than seeking answers, his documentarysparks so many questions. It reminds us of what is broken in our country. It brings up questions of privilege as well as the constant, vicious, deeply rooted, fear and hatred, that many white people in this country still feel towards people of color."

Awards and nominations

On December 1, the film was selected as one of 15 shortlisted for the

. *

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:3 1 2 Minutes, 10 Bullets 2015 films 2015 documentary films Documentary films about African Americans Documentary films about law in the United States HBO documentary films Films shot in Jacksonville, Florida 2010s English-language films 2010s American films