✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
New Zealand, United States · 2012
Rated R · 2h 30m
Director Amy Berg
Starring Jason Baldwin, Julie Ann Doan, Damien Wayne Echols, Pam Hobbs
Genre Documentary
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An examination of a failure of justice in Arkansas. Told and made by those who lived it, the filmmakers' unprecedented access to the inner workings of the defense, allows the film to show the investigation, research and appeals process in a way that has never been seen before; revealing shocking and disturbing new information about a case that still haunts the American South.
Berlinger and Sinofksy merely suggested Hobbs might be responsible for the crime; Berg goes in for the kill, inconclusive evidence and docu-ethics be damned. The queasy certainty with which the filmmaker jumps to her conclusions, however, is all too reminiscent of the original prosecutors' zeal. It's hard to imagine how someone could study this case for so long and yet miss its most critical lesson.
Prepare to be shocked, disturbed, awed... and, if you expected justice to prevail at last, ultimately devastated.
New York Daily News by Joe Neumaier
Certainly, the West Memphis 3 deserve more chances to detail how the justice system went nightmarishly awry. But take this as ultimately more personal journal than investigation.
The Hollywood Reporter by John DeFore
Thorny, blood-boiling and finely made.
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
A gripping documentary.
This is a compelling and comprehensive guide to one of the most Kafkaesque crime stories in American history.
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