Devil's Knot (2013)

Very disappointed :(

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Devil's Knot is based on true events where in 1993, the bodies of three murdered boys were found by the river in Arkansas. In the midst of hysteria, the police suspected three teenagers who were into heavy metal music and satanic worship.Private investigator Ron Lax (Colin Firth) looks though the evidence as a legal team who represent the boys have to overcome a hostile town and a biased judge.Pam Hobbs (Reese Witherspoon) is the mother of one of the murdered boys but the way the case is conducted leaves her doubting the boys guilt.The film is based on a harrowing true life case of young boys being brutally killed. The film has a slant that the police did not properly investigate the case and the suspects never really had a chance of a fair trial. In a bible belt town these rebellious teenagers were seen as fair game.The film is anodyne and bland. The main suspects remain off screen a lot with a confusing narrative where there is lot of toing and froing of the timeline. It is really a court room drama where Lax is just a spectator, as he is not a lawyer.The film gives a hint of who could had been an alternate suspect. In reality it looks like there were several alternative suspects as this was an infamous case already covered in several books and documentaries.This was a complex case and the film could had followed alternative paths to tell their story. Despite good performances I feel both Firth and Witherspoon were wasted.

The cast list in uncanny in this film. It would be an alright murder/mystery/court drama if the majority of people following the actual case didn't know most of the facts by now. It's a very very complex case, I've watched and read everything there is available, and I'm almost certain in my mind I know who the real killer is. It's a tragic, awful story, It does contain some upsetting scenes from the offset but again, if familiar with the case you'd have seen the real photos and film footage. Worth a watch, but misses a billion things out that are needed to understand it. Reece Witherspoon was fantastic as Pam Hobbs,

It's always interesting with films based on true stories to see how they go about things. How closely to the truth do they stick, do they give their own opinions on matters, what narrative do they use etc. 'Devil's Knot' goes for a bizarre mix between being an emotional drama at times, through to be nothing more than a factual reenactment you'd find in nearly every documentary at others. Without the former there really wouldn't have been much point in making it, let alone bringing in big stars such as Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth. It's hardly a seamless crossover between the two however, mostly due to poor direction by Atom Egoyan.What carries it though is that it's an interesting case and that's enough to keep the viewer tuned in. Withersoon and Firth are far from top form - Witherspoon looks like she's phoning it in in most scenes and Firth looks disinterested and never changes his emotional level once in the film. For a film dealing with the death of 3 young boys things never reach the emotional peak they should have. The one effective scene was the hugging scene in the classroom with Witherspoon.It's far from perfect, but it is fascinating at times nonetheless. It doesn't force its opinion on you (at least not too much) which I really liked. None of the scenes drag and the dialogue, while occasionally clunky, is well written for the most part. The case itself it probably more memorable than the film, but I wouldn't have known about the case without the film so I won't complain too much.

Paradise Lost documented the story of three child murders in West Memphis, Arkansas. The Devils Knot goes on to dramatise and become the 'Hollywood' version and sadly falls flat. The case was so complex and difficult to take in that a running time of under 2 hours both fails to make you empathise with any character or help you to make up your mind as what you think the truth is. I really feel this was an opportunity missed as it is probably one of the most intriguing and complex cases ever with its possible injustice, combined with very credible other suspects that a lay person could easily connect with the murders. Overall it just fails to deliver on most fronts and will do nothing for viewers who are new to the case and adds very little to those who know it well. I feel it may well be picked up again by someone else in the future but requires a lot more attention and running time to really get it right.