Review of Into the Abyss (2011) by Amber K — 23 Nov 2012

Critically acclaimed documentary about a capital murder case. As one who majored in criminal justice and once wanted to be involved in the system, I still have some interest in the topic of capital punishment. Throw it in a good movie format and I'll check it out. Unfortunately, I was not impressed with Herzog or his film.

Not like I think about the death penalty often, but when I do, I'm truly split about 50/50. I used to be absolutely pro death penalty, but as my humanity grows and my knowledge of a very broken and biased system grows, I become more and more skeptical. It's not a civilized thing to do. But, some people are just bad. Especially when sex acts are involved and the perp is sane and intelligent, I have no problem. These guys knew exactly what they were doing and can relive the good parts in prison. Fuck that. They really gotta go. But the system doesn't work that way. Usually, it's really low IQ perps who are basically big dumb animals who don't really understand the way of the world.

Such is the case here. I did like this format a bit. Bio channel has proved that one person talking against a black background can be highly effective (I Survived...) if the story is strong enough. This docu doesn't go that far, but it's basically just people telling their story. Furthermore, it's basically a case study. You can make broader points about the system with various cases, but by focusing on one case, the same points are basically made and brought to life with a more personal touch.

That said, Herzog nearly ruins the film with his terrible interviews. His accent is awful, which he can't help, but his questions are often awkward. He says up front that he is against the death penalty. Fine, it's his movie. But it's almost as if he tries to get certain people to say certain things to either confirm his viewpoint (again, this is fine and what docs do...but not this way) or to try and convince the interviewee that he is on his side. It's just weird.

Finally, what a tragic tale all around. It's in some poor town in Texas. The people involved in the murder have family trees rooted in prison. Even the victims , it seems, may have had less than sparkling pasts. Then this dumbest of all dumb idiots marries the one guy while in prison and possibly gets pregnant with his kid (though it's not clear whose kid or, if his, how it happened). I don't know what to do with all that. The easy one is to hate the lady married to the guy...that's all choice and she seemed at least moderately educated...enough to know better. The guy they execute seems like a really dumb child. Fuck him though. Evidence shows he killed three people and he never owns up to it. The worst kind. The guy who gets the long sentence...seems like a really scary dude. Again, nearly killed someone (at least by that guy's account) before, and cannot admit to anything in regards to the three murders. The prison capt has a compelling story. I've seen other docs about prison employees who struggle with carrying out the death penalty.

All in all, just a depressing movie. Our government is hardly credible enough to carry out anything resembling real justice, but what other choice do we have? It's terribly sad that some people never have a chance...parents in prison as they grow up, etc. But it's also sad when they take it out on society at large. What do you do? To its credit, the movie at least brings that discussion to life without really pushing the viewer either way. As a 50/50 guy, it definitely did not push me one way or the either.