Each time I heard the pulsating music start working me up for the next bout of violence, I dreaded what was coming. The manipulation got to me, all right, but the only emotion I felt was hatred of the movie.

Parker has loudly claimed the right to fictionalise his subject matter, but he must not then use these fictions as evidence with which to hector us on the realities of law enforcement.

Unfortunately, the central narrative premise of Mississippi Burning sets up the FBI as the sole heroic defender of the victims of southern racism in 1964, which is more than a little disgusting.

It’s bizarre to cheer on the abuse of civil rights in a movie ostensibly about advancing civil rights.