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Review

The story of a real-life tragedy is told with sledgehammer subtlety by director Singleton, who does history a disservice by sacrificing all ambiguity, character development and moral conflict for the sake of a shallow, easy political statement. Rhames stars as an enigmatic WWI veteran who comes to Rosewood, Florida -- a town built and populated almost entirely by black Americans -- to buy some land and begin a peaceful life. Instead, a case of mistaken identity brings a mob of angry whites from a neighboring, poorer town to wreak a violent vengeance and retribution on Rosewood. Unfortunately, the film neglects historical drama in favor of crowd-pleasing sentiment and simplicity. Singleton has taken a fascinating, important and tragic story and made a terrible, albeit good-looking movie out of it.