Movie review
October 10, 2025 · 97 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Perfect Neighbor.
Woke representation / casting
Real-life subjects and actual bodycam footage of a factual incident; no fictional casting, swaps, or visible forced diversity.
Woke political dialogue
Bodycam and 911 calls edited to spotlight inconsistencies in the shooter’s fear claims while implying racial bias; director/producer framing adds activist layer.
Identity-driven story themes
Core narrative is racial prejudice and white fear of Black neighbors/children as the direct cause of the killing.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Relentlessly indicts Stand Your Ground laws, policing, and broader societal structures as enabling racist gun violence in modern activist terms.
Review
The documentary frames the entire story as white racial prejudice against a Black mother and her children driving a fatal shooting. It keeps hammering Stand Your Ground laws as tools that let racist fear turn into murder. Bodycam footage is edited nonstop to show the white neighbor’s complaints, slurs, and paranoia as identity-based terror while the Black community appears as innocent victims. The narrative engine is pure racial fear plus institutional critique of policing, guns, and “systemic” white violence. No subplots or distractions—just that message from open to close.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Acclaim dominates with Oscar buzz and calls for law change; specific “too woke” or forced-agenda backlash is limited and fringe.
Creator track record context
Director and key producers have clear, repeated history of race- and social-justice-driven projects that align with this film’s messaging.
Production
