Review of Devil's Knot (2013) by Adrian Z — 21 Jun 2014

Atom Egoyan's procedural drama, based on real events that took place in the 90s, has been done in almost semi documentary fashion and without the sensationalism that surely surrounded the sordid circumstances that saw three Arkansas teens (alleged Satanists) charged with murdering three boys.

Colin Firth is solid as the legal investigator who tries to poke holes at the sham trial that follows, and Reese Witherspoon also holds her own as the mother of one of the boys, who gradually becomes aware that the prosecution's case is based on erratic data, The beauty of the film is that it does not spoonfeed viewers with a particular point of view, simply letting an unadorned exposition of facts point out that something is truly amiss.

That said, the presentation initially lacks a little bit of focus as suspicious characters are introduced without rhyme of reason, but after some time, it all gels. Apparently, American critics and audiences have so far rejected this film, seemingly on the basis of the saturated media coverage it has received, and the well respected trilogy of documentaries made about these events, but as a non-American newcomer to these events, I found this film to be absorbing and incensing.