To be frank, this film was not that memorable, honestly. It was kind of boring and long. This is a possible pitfall of silent films as there is no sound, and sound stimulates us in a very necessary way to stay focused. Sound physiologically guides our attention in life so if the music in one theater playing this film had something upbeat going while another had something morose and sullen playing the reaction of the audience would be completely different in each scenario. That's absolutely true for every other silent film, but it means that there is an extra onus on the filmmaker to compress and "glisten" the events on the screen so that the audience's eyeballs not only stay glued but stimulate their brain to keep along with the film.
In my opinion, this film was particularly long and drawn out versus other silent films. While I've already stated that silent film in this era is defined by its relationship to theater and the early developments of the camera requiring wide shots versus complex close ups or moving shots. This film in particular felt very stagey and set-up. It really felt like a filmed theater and I think that is what added to the dullness of it.
There is obviously excitement in the moments of violence, conflict and lynching. But the rest of the movie doesn't do a great job of maintaining that tension and excitement and building it up in a narrative way where questions about the story and universe keep you waiting for what happens next, the events are more like shocks that come and then wane afterwards.
This film is notable for being made by an African-American man and being very political. It calls out racism in a direct conversation wth The Birth of a Nation. Ironically, though, I would argue Birth of a Nation did a much better job of maintaing tension and engagement in the journey of the characters than this film. Within Our Gates is more direct in its political aims, as it almost came out of the political conversation surrounding birth of a nation, a film that came out of a story first, politics second, and then the storyline was built to serve the politics of the filmmaker. I think that difference is what yielded a more boring film, because the aim wasn't really story first but rather political point first.
There are many arguments defending this film for its visual artistry and I will grant that the lynching scene, especially with the irony of the one black man in the lynch mob getting turned on by his white "friends" and hung himself was extremely gripping, overall, the movie lacks an engaging narrative across the whole film to keep me invested all the way through.