Review of Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart (2014) by Devilmath — 26 Sep 2015

Pamela Smart is widely known for being convicted of conspiring and being accomplice to the murder of her husband Gregg Smart. Her trial, completed in 1991, was the first ever to be publicly televised in the U.S. Captivated challenges its outcome, giving voice to the actors in the controversy: director Jeremiah Zagar interviews Pamela Smart, the prosecutors in the investigation, the TV reporter that provided full live coverage of the trial, book authors, and many more people involved in the case. The film also features a great deal of video footage from the televised trial, TV shows and films loosely based on the event, as well as the original unreleased audio recording of Juror #13: a woman who secretly recorded her thoughts during the trial, one of the few voices of skepticism and rationality who questions the system rather than just accepting its absurdity.

While watching the film we realise, with increasing horror and astonishment, that the media circus built around the investigation is growing out of control, and those involved are losing track of what really matters. Everything starts with the murder of a man, but what everyone cares about is getting a chance to tell the story in front of the camera. Captivated is particularly effective (and amusing) when it lets the old protagonists speak; when trying to debunk and reconstruct the official truth it works less smoothly, especially because the risk of not practising what it preaches, and falling prey to sensationalism and partiality, is always high. The finished product is strongly engaging, though, and delivers a clear message about issues that are all but outdated.