Devil's Knot (2013)

Directed by: Atom Egoyan
Country: USA

Movie Review: Far are the times when Canadian filmmaker of Armenian origin, Atom Egoyan, surprised us with his raw, honest cinema. Films like “Family Viewing”, “Speaking Parts”, “The Adjuster”, “Calendar”, “Sweet Hereafter”, and “Exotica” will be forever in my mind as great films, however this “Devil’s Knot”, based on the true events happened in 1993 in West Memphis, Arkansas, where three young boys were severely mutilated and killed, is a weak effort. The case known as West Memphis Three became famous when three boys were wrongly convicted, remaining in prison for more than 18 years. Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon starred, the former as an obsessed defense lawyer decided to find the truth, and the latter as the unconvincing mother of one of the 8-year-old victims, Stevie Branch. This disappointing drama comes in a very bad time and devoid of the best arguments and mood to triumph, since this particular case received huge attention by the press and media, having at least four amazing documentaries released about the subject matter. The screenplay, written by Paul Harris Boardman and Scott Derrickson based on Mara Leveritt’s book, uses several manipulations to force the viewers to involve themselves emotionally. The result is pretty much artificial and narratively distorted, as everything is presented in a hasty, confused, and imprecise manner. I doubt this film works, even for those who are not familiar with the horrifying story depicted. For a much more genuine insight about the case, I urge you to watch Amy Berg’s “West of Memphis”, and “Paradise Lost” trilogy.