John Singleton has sometimes been written off as a conventional storyteller, as if that term were automatically a criticism. Singleton is in many ways a conventional storyteller and, when working with material as strong as Boyz N The Hood and the new Rosewood—as opposed to the muddled Higher Learning—he's a powerful one. Rosewood is a retelling of the racial conflict that literally destroyed the prosperous black community of Rosewood, Florida, in 1923. Deliberately paced at the outset, the film slowly establishes a sense of hatred that makes the violent explosion of the film's second half as plausible and inevitable as the laws of physics. Rosewood has its flaws, mostly in the form of touches that seem too Hollywood, but strong performances by Don Cheadle and Jon Voight do much to smooth these over. The imposing presence of Ving Rhames even manages to bring some depth to an otherwise bland leading role. Dark and hinting at the possibility of redemption, Rosewood is an effective, intelligent film, and a strong return to form for its director.