This was terrible. So boring. Point was never made. Very clearly one sided and left out a lot. It took me 3 attempts to even finish this because it was so slow. Don't waste your time.

Slow, slow, slow. Don't bother. Made it 3/4 of the way and finally told the wife I couldn't watch any more. She said "thank god" and we went to bed.

Surprised to see such high ratings for something I found meandering and aimless for most of its running time. I fast lost interest and this overly long preamble to nowhere near pulled me back in again. Still not sure what it was hoping to impart but I came away none-the-wiser.

Took twice as long as it needed to tell a complicated story.

It is always difficult to rate sensitive movies. This one is longer than it should and sadly is very one sided, which doesn't allow us to see the full picture

Although it leaves important questions unanswered, Strong Island is powerful in presenting us with the filmmaker's own story of a family tragedy. After more than 25 years, the family has continually sought to find peace. Instead they have discovered some of the answers to their own questions as to how and why William Ford Jr. was murdered in 1992.

An incredibly beautiful family remain dignified despite agonizing pain and scandalous injustice.

A really sad story and very infuriating.

I expected much more from this film, especially considering the high critics score. I should've known better than to pay attention to what the critics say. It is an incredibly sad story. But I expected there to be some great big revelation, something that drew me in and captivated me, yet there never was. However, I did feel empathy for the people involved and agreed that justice was not served for the victim or his family.

A riveting intense look into what should have never happened, and ignorance. A word of advice- never say life isn't fair, especially after watching this.

This film was almost good.

A horrific case of racism against a black family whose son was shot by a white man. It doesn't get 5* bc there were some obvious factors to consider that weren't discussed. Other than that, its a powerful, emotional and tragic documentary created by the sister of the slain man.

I thought this was quite poor in that it was not a strong enough story or argument for racism. It felt like it was a tragic story but I was screaming out for more evidence of racism. The camera work was good and I liked the realism of the mother. The honesty maybe reduced the power of the argument.

Heartbreaking with a captivating presentation.

A depressing film that is difficult to watch. Movies that play on racial animosity are in vogue, but I don't know if it is the chicken noodle soup our souls need.

If you look at the discrepancy between the Critics rating and the audience you will get a good understanding of racial sensitivity in America. The audience is relatively anonymous so they are being honest. Critics simply couldn't get away with giving this film a bad rating. I found it to be a very brooding, depressing story with no story arc or evolution on the part of the film maker. It starts and finishes in the same space. They (the film maker and family) had their preconceived notions about what happened to William (a racially motivated shooting vs. a defensive shooting) and they stated there was no way they were ever going to change their opinion. I thought therefore, that we would be treated to some investigative story where compelling information is presented. No such luck. No ah-ha moments. What seems so odd about this and similar cases is the lack of understanding that there are consequences to violent behavior. At the very best case - nobody really knew what happened other than this kid William acted violently toward the shooter in the past at his place of work. People are just not going to let themselves get beat up on their own property. Yet the family said "why couldn't he have run out the back door". They are rightfully very heart broken people, but they are living in denial. Williams father was handicapped and nobody was there to guide this young man. Its a super sad story, but for me it painted a picture of some very depressed angry people in the grips of denial.

I watch a lot of documentaries and this one was severely lacking in content. It seemed more like a chronicle that a new filmmaker would make for just friends and family. I stayed with it hoping for a surprise reveal or a huge turning point but never got that satisfaction. It was a one sided story. Why would she not reveal more of the killer? Limo? Criminal history or lack there of? And, I hated how she tried to pull us in to the tragic night without speaking of the vacuum and car door incident until much later. Yes, this man was killed when other options were available, however; it saddened me that it became a black and white issue. I understand that the family has blinders on (as I would as well) but, the situation lacked evidence of a racial issue. If there was more to that story, the filmmaker did a poor job of conveying it. Lastly, the name of the film was terrible and had nothing to do with the story. Also, the general shots of nothingness in between conversations was annoying. Some lasting over 10 seconds. Twice, I thought I accidentally paused the movie! Overall, this could have been a story worth tell if the filmmaker took of her blinders long enough to see the bigger picture.

I was intrigued by the premise, i.e., a Grand Jury fails to indict a man for shooting an unarmed man to death. I expected "Strong Island" to be more akin to NBC's Dateline, but with a bit more polish, and without commercials. What I got, however, was a lengthy and meandering showcase of artsy cinematography and monologues from folks that weren't even witnesses to the homicide, nor were they so much as part of the investigation. Their statements consisted primarily of descriptions of their feelings, and how said feelings negatively impacted their life. While I can't even possibly imagine the pain that William Ford, Jr.'s family experienced and continues to experience, simply showcasing that pain in a documentary isn't getting us anywhere, nor does it shed any light on what happened in that room at the auto body repair shop in April of 1992. The filmmaker conducted little to no independent investigation, which is a shame, because it sounds like something was highly irregular about the Grand Jury hearing in this case. If William Ford, Jr. wanted to kill Mark Reilly, he would've brought a weapon with him. Not only that, it didn't sound to me like there was any evidence at all of past physical altercations between the two men. It would have been groundbreaking, for example, if the filmmaker had somehow tricked Mark Reilly into making a statement about the homicide, and said statement inculpatory, i.e., "I was tired of dealing with the guy, so I shot him." Instead, he intentionally omitted any reference to the shooter whatsoever. He explained in an interview that he couldn't bring himself to so much as utter the shooter's name, nor did he desire for the world to now anything about him. Again, while I understand that this decision was born from raw emotion, it doesn't help me - the viewer - figure out why a Grand Jury declined to indict this case. In sum, this simply isn't a crime documentary at all, but rather a cathartic exercise for the family of William Ford, Jr.

An African-American transgender director tells the story of their murdered brother. The narrative is confusing but the heart of the documentary is the raw emotion and grief of the family members. It's heartbreaking watching them break down. There's just so much anger and despair.

[spoiler] This movie, I had to watch in 3 different sessions. Not because it was boring but just because I always started the movie to kill a bit of time. Those movies, I never really get into. So the point is that it's hard for me to talk about the overall flow or impact the movie had on me, but still this will be one of the movies I will never forget. What I most appreciated about the movie are two things - poignancy in visual narrative, and intimacy of inviting me into the family. How close the Yance, narrator's face was to the camera, as if she was whispering her deepest personal story to myself in my own living room, all the pores I could see on her face felt like they were saying to me "See how I am naked (honest) with you? You must soak up everything I say. From the details of the stories to the emotions I bare." I never got to see her full body. It was always the close-up shot of her face, all the scars on her face and her dry and wrinkled hands pulling out old equally wrinkled photographs of her family. Her stare at me, and her deepest voice against the dark (pitch black) backdrop are vivid in my head. I think she never wanted me to forget, as she will never forget the pain. Yance said her family was never the same after the death of her brother. The togetherness fell when William left, and she interviewed her family members separately. Mom in the kitchen, her sister in her room. This film was the first time they really talked about this. Her mother was in a coma shortly after the movie started and before the movie finished. Yance got to capture her mother's frank thoughts and feelings before she was no longer able to. Her mother said "Until the moment I die, I will believe that the Grand Jury didn't care for my brother because of the color of his skin." Yance's brother had a dream to become a correctional officer, withstood pain of starving for 31 days to achieve his dream and then when it came true, he was shot to death. He was fury for injustice and wanted to fight for justice when he had the power. But that line was so clear, before he was granted power, he was no one. He was painted as a monster, just so easily. And that was it. Yance had so much anger and pain, and I could see it bottled in her but she let this out to the world in the most beautiful way. The serenity in the clouds of some scenes, darkness of the streets that are so silent, and buildings of where William used to be were beautifully melancholic. Thank you so much for sharing your story.