Lakeith Stanfield has been inching his way toward stardom with memorable work in Short Term 12, Snowden, and Miles Ahead. Crown Heights affords him more screen time than he’s ever had before, but while he’s superb in the lead, the actor’s time would have been better spent on something besides a true-life premium cable biopic about a hooligan rotting away in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. The sole fresh twist, one that should have been more than enough to drive the show — one friend dedicating his life to exonerating the other — is repeatedly undermined by their unequal presentation. We lose track of the dedicated friend Carl (Nnamdi Asomugha) almost immediately, and except for a dramatic moment here and a dollop of dialogue there, we don’t really have a sense of his involvement until the last third of the picture. Written and directed by Matt Ruskin. (2017) — Scott Marks
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