The Killing Of Kenneth Chamberlain

violence

An unarmed man in a state of extreme distress is tased, struck with bean bag rounds, pinned to the ground and then shot. The bullet impacts occur off screen and there are no visible injuries, but we subsequently see a still image of dried puddles of blood on the floor where the real incident took place.

threat and horror

Police officers become increasingly aggressive while attempting to force their way into a vulnerable man’s home during a medical welfare check, causing panic and distress and resulting in sustained scenes of threat throughout the work. There is also a sequence of footage of the real incident, during which the victim can be heard repeatedly saying that the police are going to kill him.

language

There is use of strong language (‘f**k’). Milder terms include ‘shit’, ‘bullshit’, ‘piss’ and ‘ass’.

discrimination

It is implied that the white police officers’ aggressive behaviour towards Chamberlain is fueled by racism. We hear police officers using racist terms including ‘f**king n****r’, ‘cocoa puff’ and ‘Angus’, and there is also use of audio footage of a real police officer addressing Chamberlain as ‘n****r’. After learning that Chamberlain has bipolar disorder, a police officer repeatedly speculates he may have ‘a half-dead hooker’ held prisoner on his property. The film does not condone discrimination.

additional issues: There are references to mental health, including scenes in which a man with bipolar disorder experiences panic and confusion triggered by other people’s threatening behaviour. There are passing references to drugs and sex work.

strong threat, language, violence, racism

Classified Date:

09/04/2022

Version:

2D

Use:

VOD/Streaming

Distributor:

Signature Entertainment

violence

An unarmed man in a state of extreme distress is tased, struck with bean bag rounds, pinned to the ground and then shot. The bullet impacts occur off screen and there are no visible injuries, but we subsequently see a still image of dried puddles of blood on the floor where the real incident took place.

threat and horror

Police officers become increasingly aggressive while attempting to force their way into a vulnerable man’s home during a medical welfare check, causing panic and distress and resulting in sustained scenes of threat throughout the work. There is also a sequence of footage of the real incident, during which the victim can be heard repeatedly saying that the police are going to kill him.

language

There is use of strong language (‘f**k’). Milder terms include ‘shit’, ‘bullshit’, ‘piss’ and ‘ass’.

discrimination

It is implied that the white police officers’ aggressive behaviour towards Chamberlain is fueled by racism. We hear police officers using racist terms including ‘f**king n****r’, ‘cocoa puff’ and ‘Angus’, and there is also use of audio footage of a real police officer addressing Chamberlain as ‘n****r’. After learning that Chamberlain has bipolar disorder, a police officer repeatedly speculates he may have ‘a half-dead hooker’ held prisoner on his property. The film does not condone discrimination.

additional issues: There are references to mental health, including scenes in which a man with bipolar disorder experiences panic and confusion triggered by other people’s threatening behaviour. There are passing references to drugs and sex work.

Classified date

09/04/2022
Language

English

Director(s)

David Midell

Production Year

2022

Genre(s)

Drama, Thriller

Approx. running minutes

81m

Cast

Frankie Faison, Steve O'Connell, Enrico Natale