The Force

Sprawling, immediate, and complex, Peter Nicks's vérité documentary moves like a pulsing, timely thriller. In 2014, after over a decade of federal monitoring for misconduct and civil rights abuses, the Oakland Police Department hires Chief Sean Whent - a young, clear-eyed idealist - in hopes of bridging an historically tense divide between its officers and the community they serve. (Sundance Film Festival)