Brick City

This five-part Sundance Channel series profiles Newark, NJ, and its dynamic young mayor, Cory Booker, who was elected in 2006 and, on the evidence presented here, is working tirelessly to rejuvenate a city hobbled by urban blight and street violence. The episodes take a roughly chronological approach, beginning in spring 2008 and continuing through the November election of Barack Obama, to whom Booker is frequently compared. A good deal of behind-the-scenes footage shows the mayor strategizing with staff, greeting businessmen who might invest in the city, and simply getting out among the citizens. But several events receive special attention—a public outcry over the continually postponed opening of a new school; the controversy surrounding Booker's police director, Garry McCarthy, who is a transplanted New Yorker dedicated to reducing the murder rate to historically low levels but looked on by many as an interloper; and a city council election that pits an independent against the mayor's hand-picked candidate. Along the way, the focus shifts, with local activists taking center stage, such as Jayda and Creep, who are a Romeo and Juliet–style couple from the Blood and Crip gangs. Each episode is introduced by Forest Whitaker, the series executive producer, and followed by a brief recollection by co-directors Marc Levin and Mark Benjamin. DVD extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette, interviews (with Whitaker, Levin, and Benjamin), and bonus scenes. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)