Michael Premo’s documentary, Homegrown, opens with Chris building nursery furniture for the birth of his son. He’s wearing a t-shirt with 1776 in a circle of stars. A reference to the Declaration of Independence or Trump’s 1776 report, perhaps. He’s pumped up, as he talks to the camera. “If you think DC was bad … just wait,” he grins. “Just wait.”
People across the world remember DC. Specifically, the storming of the Capitol Building on January 6 by pro-Trump supporters who believed that the 2020 election of just three months prior was stolen from their chosen candidate. It felt like the unravelling of one of the greatest political systems in the world. It was a dark day for all sides of the voting spectrum, with crimson blood splattered and streaming down the pale marble steps of democracy.
Premo takes an objective stance to his documentary subjects. Chris, the father to be, is regularly called by his wife to ensure that he’s wearing a mask at all of the various rallies he attends. She’s seven months pregnant and doesn’t want him bringing Covid home. We meet Randy, an older man who is convinced that civil war is afoot. We are also introduced to Thad, a Latino ex-serviceman who espouses conservative family values. He has four children, two of whom he is trying to bring to the United States. He is perhaps the most conflicting of the trio.
We see pro-Trump rallies of all sizes and demographics. Men wearing camo, beers in hand, recite the Proud Boy oath which declares them Western chauvinists. They point to bumper stickers that say things like “Fuck Your Feelings” and “Even Covid Choose Trump”. Don’t Tread on Me and Thin Blue Line flags are draped over cars and fences. There are jokes about shooting and crucifying those with opposing views.
And all of this is captured, without hesitation, on camera. Which does rather make you wonder what might be being said behind closed doors if this is the content that is out in the open. No one seems quite able to explain what Trump has actually done to improve their lives. “I’m in love with what he’s done for the people in terms of … uh … unification,” says Thad, who also finds himself at Black Lives Matter events.
Chris features most prominently in the documentary, giving us a tour of his windowless man cave, stacked with AR-15s, twelve gauge AK-47s and AR-10s. He believes that “Ninety to ninety five per cent” of cop killings are justified. “Are you legal?” he shouts, boorishly, at an Asian protestor who is heckling his Trump rally. Chris’s wife is a Chinese immigrant.
What Premo captures perfectly is how long this feeling of unrest and chaos has been brewing within certain circles. Trump’s election defeat prompts immediate calls of interference and robbery. Online platforms quickly raise a literal call to arms. This seems like the perfect outlet for months of pent up hatred and bile. As the bitterness of defeat sinks in, the chance to “mobilise” and spread fear, seems like the only option for a taste of power. Chants of “The election isn’t over until we say it is” and “Who’s streets? Our streets?” are laced with a violence that is palpable.
The excitement at the thought of actually storming a government building is written all over Chris’s face. He’s packed tasers and knives under the guise of a survival kit. It is him we follow into a tight, dark corridor as pro-Trump supporters attempt to push their way past riot police. He is pepper sprayed several times, leaving his eyes weeping and his skin raw. Premo alternates between his own footage and the body cameras of the police front line. Chris is a vocal agitator, shouting obscenities in the face of those trying to protect the Capitol. “I’m gonna drag Pelosi out by her fucking toes,” he yells at the crowd, whipping groups of men into a frenzy. The disorientating camerawork amongst the violent clashes adds a claustrophobic layer to the spiralling chaos.
The film ends with Thad being disavowed by the Proud Boys for his involvement in the BLM movement whilst Chris receives one of the longest prison sentences attached to the riots – 12 years. His newborn son will be a teenager before he will properly meet his father. Randy, meanwhile, is seen sitting on the back of a pick up track, rounding up yet another crowd to inflict violence upon cars and passers by. The news cycle, the echo chamber, the unrest has not stopped. Will it ever, Premo seems to ask.
Homegrown is showing at the Glasgow Film Festival 2025. Get your tickets here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na6rWo4oK_A
Editor at Moviescramble. European cinema, grisly thrillers and show stopping musicals are my bag. Classic Hollywood Cinema is comfort food. Spare time is heavily dependent on a lot of pizza and power ballads.
