Review of Into the Abyss (2011) by Kenneth L — 15 Aug 2012

Werner Herzog has made quite a few extraordinary documentaries (Grizzly Man, The White Diamond, and Cave of Forgotten Dreams among them), and this one is probably his most emotionally intense. The main emotion, by the way, is nearly overwhelming sadness. It's a documentary about capital punishment, but rather than being a Michael Moore-style rant, this film simply probes into the people surrounding a particular case and sees how they all react to it. I can't think of a sadder, more bitter portrait of regret and sorrow than some of the scenes in this film.

In Conroe, Texas in 2001, two 18-year-olds, Michael Perry and Jason Burkett, brutally murdered a woman, her teenage son, and the son's friend, all in order to steal a Camaro. Ten years later, Perry was scheduled to be executed (Burkett got off with a 40-year-sentence, for some reason). A few days before the execution, Herzog interviewed Perry in prison. He also interviewed Burkett, various relatives of both the murderers and the victims, a chaplain, and a former execution officer. The movie pretty much gives us these interviews straight without too much narration or editorializing, though we can hear Herzog's voice asking the subjects questions from off-camera.

The movie gives all of its subjects a lot of time to talk. It presents their thoughts on the matter of Perry's execution without taking sides. For me, the most moving interview was with Lisa Stotler-Bolton, whose mother and brother were both murdered by Perry. Although Herzog says he opposes the death penalty towards the beginning of the movie, Lisa reveals that she did indeed feel better after she saw Perry executed. After the amount of pain we can see Perry caused her, it does seem that if anyone would be utterly justified in supporting his death, it would be her. On the other hand, Perry seems goofy and friendly when we see him, so that it becomes hard to want to see him die (although, if you heard the facts of the case itself without seeing him, you would be much less likely to sympathize with him). The former execution officer, who had personally overseen over 125 executions, seems like the most persuasive arguer against it. Herzog correctly just lets us see all sides without forcing us to choose. What's perhaps more revealing than anything is seeing just how sad and pathetic the lives of everyone here are, whether through their own failings (one of the killers's father) or through tragic circumstances befalling them (Lisa Stotler-Bolton). Incidentally, the strange, atonal music by Mark De Gli Antoni seems somehow perfect for the film, and I was surprised to see that he hadn't worked with Herzog before. Of all the Herzog movies I've seen, this one perhaps seems least like the one that needed Herzog in particular; because Herzog is so self-effacing here, you can almost imagine someone else talented having made it. Nevertheless (or maybe because of this fact), it is yet another powerful and moving entry in his large oeuvre.