| Site locale: United States |
|
||||
|
||||||
|
Best Blu-ray Deals  
|
Best Blu-ray Deals, See All the Deals » |
Top deals |
Price drops
|
 $17.16 |  $9.99 |  $38.99 |  $8.99 |  $17.28 |  $18.84 |  $9.99 |  $17.99 |  $41.99 |  $9.99 |  $19.99 |  $27.99 |  $12.99 |  $7.99 |  $9.99 |  $17.99 |  $29.99 |  $14.99 |  $69.99 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
West of Memphis2012 | 146 min | R | 1.85:1
We’ve been through this story before, on three separate occasions. Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky’s “Paradise Lost” documentary series (including the 1996 original, “Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills,” a 2000 sequel, “Revelations,” and the 2011 conclusion, “Purgatory”) triumphantly inspected the gruesome, astonishing details involving the trial and conviction of the West Memphis Three. The pictures were incendiary and mournful, blending journalism and outrage masterfully over six methodical hours, walking through the case one step at a time. While never intended to be the definitive document of the West Memphis Three, the “Paradise Lost” movies became a beacon for national interest, with celebrities, legal minds, and passionate observers manufacturing a movement to free Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, and Jason Baldwin from the hell of life in prison for crimes they claim they did not commit. Despite treading on well-worn cinematic ground, “West of Memphis” swears it has something fresh to share with the world, taking 145 minutes to file through its theories and interviews. 
The basics: On May 5, 1993, eight-year-old boys Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore ran off into the late afternoon for some after-school play. They never returned home. On May 6th, their naked, mutilated bodies were found in a nearby creek, with little proof pointing to the perpetrators. Due to their musical interests, fascination with the occult, and general behavioral problems, 18-year-old Echols, 17-year-old Misskelley, and 16-year-old Baldwin were arrested, eventually charged with the murder of the children. The evidence was tenuous, vague, and cooked, but Arkansas law wasn’t about to let the boys off, eventually securing life sentences for Misskelley and Baldwin, while Echols was put on death row. “West of Memphis” rehashes the developments of the case for newcomers, though it does so with a slightly dismissive attitude toward “Paradise Lost,” especially when director Amy Berg’s narrative begins to take its own shape, moving away from the unanswerable questions to cold facts and scientific evidence. Constructed after the controversial 2011 prison release of the West Memphis Three, the documentary has the benefit of hindsight, molding its perspective with an eye toward a specific target: Terry Hobbs. 
Hobbs, Branch’s stepfather, is placed into the picture’s crosshairs, isolating the man’s cagey attitude and history of abuse, positioning him as the man behind the murders, though a true motive remains unknown. Footage of Hobbs in various stages of unrest are riveting, watching the man struggle with overpowering legal attacks while maintaining a loose alibi with his visibly unnerved friend. Berg throws everything she’s got at Hobbs, or perhaps it would be more accurate to list filmmakers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh (who produce the documentary) as the architects of this attack, using their considerable financial resources to fund DNA tests and private detectives, eventually coming to befriend Echols and his wife, Lorri, supporting her seemingly tireless quest to free her husband (a man she targeted after reading interviews with the inmate) from prison. In fact, the West Memphis Three became quite the fancy for the famous during their time behind bars, with the likes of Henry Rollins, Eddie Vedder, and Natalie Maines laboring to raise awareness of the injustice and provide cash for the trio after their hoped-for release. Their insight into the case is minimal (Vedder seems especially naive about Echols’s macabre juvenile antics, labeling them as harmless rebellion) but their star power is blinding, growing into a reoccurring theme of the picture as the famous join hands to isolate this single miscarriage of justice, seeing parts of themselves in the vulnerable teens. 
Despite its length, critical details are missing or simply glossed over (Echols insists his interest in magic was misconstrued as satanic worship), and “West of Memphis” is almost entirely focused on Echols, with Baldwin and Misskelley only providing cameos near the end of the film. Their input is missed, as it seems unfair to single out Echols and his prison woes when all three men were clearly suffering at the hands of possibly corrupt legal forces. The gaps are noticeable, yet the new information, including a riveting exploration of turtle bites as a way to explain cuts on the young bodies, makes a strong impression, nicely ordered and escalated by the production to retain a few fleeting moments of suspense. “West of Memphis” isn’t unnecessary, but it’s often superfluous, spending more time and energy on a case that’s become operatic in its turns of fate, though it remains frustratingly incomplete, even with all the attention the investigation has garnered over the last two decades. The documentary hints at closure and relief, but fails to reach beyond the basics, unwilling to solidify salient points of injustice and inspire post-screening activism. After all, imagine what celebrity money, four documentaries, and an internet movement could do for all the other men and women who’ve been wrongfully accused of heinous crimes. The clarity of outrage shouldn’t end with the experience of these three men. Director: Amy Berg » See full cast & crew |
 
Trending Blu-ray Movies
Trending in Theaters
Most Popular Blu-ray Movie Deals
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
This web site is not affiliated with the Blu-ray Disc Association. All trademarks are the property of the respective trademark owners. © 2002-2013 Blu-ray.com. All rights reserved. Mobile | Registration problems | Business/Advertising Inquiries | Privacy Policy | Legal Notices |
