This is leading up me making my mind up about the Best Documentary Features (or so says Oscar)
Nominees:
- Hell and Back Again (click for review)
- If a Tree Falls (click for review...hey that's the same place!)
- Pina (I plan to catch this tomorrow in 3D)
- Undefeated (um, I’m not gonna see this one by Sunday. Damn.)
- Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (which brings me to):
Caveat: I have not yet seen Paradise Lost 3 either and won't before Sunday.
Supra-caveat leading into review: I did manage to ready myself for it by watching its predecessors, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills and Paradise Lost 2: Revelations.
I’d been vaguely aware of Paradise Lost but never taken the time, but I’m glad I finally did. Premiering in 1996, the original captures the aftermath of the gruesome murder of three small boys in the small town of West Memphis, Arkansas, in 1993. Three teenage boys are accused of the crime - in the near-unanimous view of the townspeople they are the only possible culprits, “because...well, just look at ‘em.” The boys’ appearance and odd behavior, combined with a (possibly forced) confession, turns the trial into a classic case of “guilty until proven innocent.”
HBO Films, at that time a burgeoning player in the field of documentary production, was granted virtually unfettered access to all of the major players in the case - the parents of the victims, the accused and their families, detectives and lawyers - with most unafraid to offer startlingly candid judgments before things go to trial. The peeling away of personalities and case details provides drama more gripping than any scripted procedural TV show. Though very unvarnished in its handling of the horrific details of the murders, it is essential viewing even if clocking in at a draining 150 minutes.
As for me, I couldn’t resist jumping right to two more hours worth of Part 2: Revelations, which follows-up on the story in 2000 and carries with it a whole extra set of issues, most notably the impact of the first film on the case and the lives of those involved. The filmmakers are given much less access this time around, and there is a lot of rehashing scenes from the first film, so the drive of the film is more halting and nowhere near as mesmerizing, but there is no shortage of bizarre behavior and twisting storyline.
I don’t intend to ruin major points for the uninitiated, but needless to say, things still haven’t been completely resolved by the end of Part 2, hence this year’s release of Part 3: Purgatory. In the absence of ability to view it at this time I was compelled to play spoiler to myself. Honestly, I can’t attest to the quality of Purgatory itself, but I intend to watch it as soon as I can get my hands on it. The story of the murders, trial and aftermath encapsulates the anthropological/sociological aspect of the series, which is the part that really engrosses me. The way that Paradise Lost catches up with the major players, and captures the ways that they have changed, for better or worse, brings to mind Michael Apted’s monumental “Up Series,” possibly the most essential documentary series ever. If I had to suggest a documentary to help regrow any gray matter that has been destroyed by today’s Reality TV, it’s a no-brainer to start with 7 Up, (you’ll be hooked by 21, and I am stoked to hear 56 Up is premiering in a few months!) but next in line should be Paradise Lost.
Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills --92/100--
Paradise Lost 2: Revelations --84/100--
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory: TBD
The Up Series: Eleventy Billion/100
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