We Own This City Part 5 is the fifth instalment of an American true crime drama miniseries based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton. The miniseries was developed and written by George Pelecanos and David Simon, who had previously collaborated on The Wire and Deuce. The premise involves the rise and fall of the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF) and the corruption surrounding it.
S P O I L E R S
We Own This City Part 5 is the penultimate instalment of this miniseries and does no better than the previous four in providing any tension or conflict. It is probably fairer to describe this series as a docu-drama rather than a scripted drama as apart from the non-linear storytelling, the narrative is quite straightforwardly mundane. This conclusion is reached notwithstanding the high quality of the performances and the production values.
READ OUR ANALYSES OF WE OWN THIS CITY.
We Own This City Part 5 focuses on the dirty deeds done by police officers G. Money and Jemel as they are interrogated by FBI agents. Ultimately the former colleagues prove the adage that there is no honour among thieves as each accuse the other of the greater wrongdoing. Figuring into this equation is homicide detective Sean Suitor, who despite his best intentions was superficially involved in the crimes of the GTTF.
One main problem with this miniseries is that often times, it comes across like a political manifesto against police corruption and systemic injustice especially against the African-American community. But seriously though, is there anything the USA can do to redress this at all? Do they even have the will to do so? We seriously doubt.
We Own This City Part 5 highlights once more that this miniseries has been a serious misstep for Pelecanos and Simon, a disappointing venture all round.
Now streaming on HBO Max.
… still there’s more …