Review of West of Memphis (2012) by Marcdoyle — 28 Dec 2012

It's a very interesting documentary which feels a bit too ordinary toward the end. I've seen the 3 Paradise Lost docs on HBO, so perhaps this film didn't have the same shock value for me that that it would like have for someone new to the subject.

After the strong mountain of evidence that stacked up against the "other" stepfather who hadn't been scrutinized as strongly as the first over the last 15 years or so, it's a bit of a let-down that we don't see a criminal action brought against him.

I would have liked to have seen the filmmakers at least address the issue. Glad to see Eddie Vedder (and the other "outsiders" praised by the final judge) stick by the 3 for over a decade of his life.

Bottom line: it's an amazing story, but I felt like West of Memphis could have been a little tighter in its presentation after 3 such amazing HBO docs on essentially the same subject.