Devil's Knot

Starring: Colin Firth & Reese Witherspoon

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

The story portrayed in Devil's Knot is the story of the West Memphis 3, a story I am very familiar with. Due to the heinous nature of the crime and the complete incompetence of the local police, the story garnered national attention and has been featured on every news show you can think of. There have also been a ton of documentaries made, all of which I've seen, and all of which call into question who might have really committed these acts. 1993, West Memphis Arkansas, three 8 year old boys go missing in the woods. A huge search party spends 3 days looking for them, before finding them in a popular fishing hole known as the Devil's Knot. There is a big list of suspects, but all the police can see is a group of Satan worshiping teenagers, who have long been a thorn in their sides. Through some very questionable tactics, and a sham of a trial, these teenagers were convicted and sent to prison. From the beginning, there involvement in the crime was called into question, even by the victims families, who saw the injustice of the whole procedure first hand. With my knowledge of the story, I was really interested to see how a film would handle the overwhelming amount of information associated with this case. To my surprise, they didn't do the typical thing and just focus on one aspect of the story, they made the case for the guilt of each of the suspects, and they showed how the police blindly and incompetently when after these three teenagers. As the film goes, they hit the nail right on the head, but when you have all these suspects, and so much back story, squeezed into an hour and a half, it can become extremely confusing for audiences unfamiliar with the case. The film is further harmed by all the interviews and investigation which really slow the pace down. The story of the West Memphis 3 is a tragic one that has led to the freedom of a killer, who did horrible things to three little boys. Devil's Knot is a primary example of police misconduct and the lack of justice available to the less fortunate. If you have an interest, I highly recommend you look into the story and decide for yourself, and a non-bias film covering the events is a great place to start.