The Killing Floor

A thoughtful exploration of the 1919 Chicago race riots, The Killing Floor makes the 1992 L.A. riots seem tame by comparison. The story is told through the eyes of Frank Custer (marvelously played by Damien Leake), a black man who moves to Chicago from the South in order to make a better life for his family. After landing a job at a slaughterhouse, Frank becomes involved in a bitter struggle between white union leaders and black non-union workers. The troubles escalate into rampant violence, and soon an entire black neighborhood is cut off from work and supplies. Elsa Rassbach's story provides both sides of the union arguments and the complex nature of the issues, while Leake's sympathetic character serves as a microcosm of the whole. Recommended. (L. Russo)