West of Memphis
3.5/4
Rated R for Disturbing Violent Content and Some Language
The case of the West Memphis Three is one of the worst miscarriages of justice in history. Anyone who knows what happened to them is certain that that statement is not a mere opinion. It is fact. Three teenage boys were convicted of savagely murdering three eight-year-old boys despite the fact that the evidence pointed to the fact that none of them had anything to do with it. Religious zeal, felonious police and prosecutorial misconduct, and the need for closure sent Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley to prison for eighteen years simply for being easy scapegoats.
I wish I could tell you that this was the work of a great screenwriter, but alas, I cannot. This is absolutely true. It's an event so shameful that the Founding Fathers were surely turning in their graves for the better part of two decades. Fortunately, a few people with pluck and determination started to dig into the story and uncovered a web of secrets, corruption, and ass-covering and turned their story into an international cry for justice. It even caught the attention of celebrity supporters ranging from Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder to Johnny Depp.
"West of Memphis" sets out to do two things, which considering the scope and complexity of the case, is definitely ambitious. First, it tells the story of the WM3 and why and how they were wrongly convicted. Second, it seeks to come up with its own theory on who the real murderer is. This movie has all the elements of a great mystery, a legal thriller, and a muckraking social document. John Grisham couldn't think this stuff up.
One thing that really helps magnify this film's impact is that director Amy Berg is absolutely fearless. Berg has built a career on ripping open the most heinous cases of injustice and showing them for the world to see. She was nominated for an Oscar for her documentary "Deliver Us from Evil," about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, and did a documentary on Warren Jeffs, the notorious LDS cult leader. She also did a documentary on sexual abuse in Hollywood, years before the Harvey Weinstein scandal unleashed a flood of victims and perpetrators. Berg doesn't hold back: she names names, shows grisly crime scene photos, turns the screws on the wicked and attacks her targets with both guns blazing. But she's also a gifted filmmaker. The first 45 minutes or so is a little sloppy on the editing front, but this is riveting filmmaking.
Berg divides her film into sections (not always elegantly) based on topic. What happened to the boys, why the trial was a complete insult to our justice system, how the case gripped the whole world, who did kill the boys, and how they were set free. Her research is exhaustive and clearly communicated; when she opens fire on her targets, she's not being a rabble-rouser. She's like a journalist with the tenacity of a Rottweiler. There's a lot to process here and a lot of people who were responsible for what happened to the WM3. But Berg never loses us and rarely confuses us.
"West of Memphis" is a wild ride; it will make you feel angry, sad, shocked, and strangely happy. It isn't the first documentary about this notorious case (Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky made a trio of them back when it was all unfolding), but it has the beauty of hindsight. I'm recommending this movie primarily because it's a fantastic movie, but also because it's a warning as to what can happen when we allow fear and zeal to override truth and common sense.
Rated R for Disturbing Violent Content and Some Language
The case of the West Memphis Three is one of the worst miscarriages of justice in history. Anyone who knows what happened to them is certain that that statement is not a mere opinion. It is fact. Three teenage boys were convicted of savagely murdering three eight-year-old boys despite the fact that the evidence pointed to the fact that none of them had anything to do with it. Religious zeal, felonious police and prosecutorial misconduct, and the need for closure sent Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley to prison for eighteen years simply for being easy scapegoats.
I wish I could tell you that this was the work of a great screenwriter, but alas, I cannot. This is absolutely true. It's an event so shameful that the Founding Fathers were surely turning in their graves for the better part of two decades. Fortunately, a few people with pluck and determination started to dig into the story and uncovered a web of secrets, corruption, and ass-covering and turned their story into an international cry for justice. It even caught the attention of celebrity supporters ranging from Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder to Johnny Depp.
"West of Memphis" sets out to do two things, which considering the scope and complexity of the case, is definitely ambitious. First, it tells the story of the WM3 and why and how they were wrongly convicted. Second, it seeks to come up with its own theory on who the real murderer is. This movie has all the elements of a great mystery, a legal thriller, and a muckraking social document. John Grisham couldn't think this stuff up.
One thing that really helps magnify this film's impact is that director Amy Berg is absolutely fearless. Berg has built a career on ripping open the most heinous cases of injustice and showing them for the world to see. She was nominated for an Oscar for her documentary "Deliver Us from Evil," about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, and did a documentary on Warren Jeffs, the notorious LDS cult leader. She also did a documentary on sexual abuse in Hollywood, years before the Harvey Weinstein scandal unleashed a flood of victims and perpetrators. Berg doesn't hold back: she names names, shows grisly crime scene photos, turns the screws on the wicked and attacks her targets with both guns blazing. But she's also a gifted filmmaker. The first 45 minutes or so is a little sloppy on the editing front, but this is riveting filmmaking.
Berg divides her film into sections (not always elegantly) based on topic. What happened to the boys, why the trial was a complete insult to our justice system, how the case gripped the whole world, who did kill the boys, and how they were set free. Her research is exhaustive and clearly communicated; when she opens fire on her targets, she's not being a rabble-rouser. She's like a journalist with the tenacity of a Rottweiler. There's a lot to process here and a lot of people who were responsible for what happened to the WM3. But Berg never loses us and rarely confuses us.
"West of Memphis" is a wild ride; it will make you feel angry, sad, shocked, and strangely happy. It isn't the first documentary about this notorious case (Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky made a trio of them back when it was all unfolding), but it has the beauty of hindsight. I'm recommending this movie primarily because it's a fantastic movie, but also because it's a warning as to what can happen when we allow fear and zeal to override truth and common sense.
Comments
Post a Comment