Stories like this have no end. There have been three documentaries made on the West Memphis Three, the Paradise Lost trilogy, which covered their convictions, incarcerations and alleged crimes in such detail that this new documentary, independent of those films, might seem unnecessary. But it is the new evidence in the case, and there are always more sides to these kinds of stories, and more connections to be made. For, despite the persistence of the state of Arkansas, negligent and self-seeking, it is both common sense and common knowledge that the WM3 are innocent of the three child murders that sent them to prison for eighteen years. Amy Berg and her editor / co-writer Billy McMillin assiduously arrange the details of the case, and of the years since, with all the subsequent efforts to free the WM3. Every element is addressed, even if only in passing, and dozens of prominent faces feature in interviews, footage or both; still, there is a clarity to the narrative, actuated by the filmmakers' focus - they have goals in sight, which they have seen through over several years of production, whether they have been realised fully, in part or only in suggestion. What they are suggesting relates to the identity of the real culprit, whom they brazenly identify. He cuts a more likely figure than those convicted, yet while this argument may appear incontrovertible, it struck me that these methods of investigation and accusation are not far removed from those used to convict the WM3 and to implicate former suspect John Mark Byers, which is unsettling from an investigative perspective. A too-happy ending also feels ill, with the implication that the freedom of the WM3 is worth a guilty plea and the insurance, thereby, that the killer will never be brought to justice. The film becomes a personal portrait of Damien Echols, which is not an appropriate course to take, after over two hours on another course. This is more than just a personal story - it is a story of relevance anywhere justice is not served, any day from this day forward. When all those connected to this particular story are dead and buried, it can't just be forgotten. Stories like this have no end.
I had a chance to see this last week at the same time I wound up opting for the charming QUARTET (a film I know you panned) but thought along the same lines you did at the start of this terrific capsule review, where you rightly acknowledged the story has been done to death. But alas, much like the endless Holocaust films it's a subject that can never really be fully exhausted. (Yes I know this particular film and subject is far more specific) Yes this can never be forgotten and the filmmakers you praise here have won wide acclaim for the film. It's a painful subject for sure, much as Herzog's INTO THE ABYSS was in 2011 and Errol Morris masterful THE THIN BLUE LINE was in 1988.
ReplyDeleteNot so bothered that the film has been done to death, though. If this documentary increases awareness, and it surely can't not, then its existence is important. And you can't make important points too often if their aim hasn't been realised. I just wish the filmmakers had approached the story less from the perspective of the impact on the WM3, and more on its potential impact on the rest of the world.
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