Rating: 5/5
West of Memphis is a documentary film following the case of the West Memphis Three, the teenagers accused and jailed for the murder of three eight-year-old boys from their Arkansas neighbourhood in 1993. With personal interviews with the family of the deceased children, the loved ones of the accused, and Damian Echols – the supposed leader of the murderers who lives on death row – this is a deeply intimate and affecting film.Interlaced with the pulls on the heartstrings are the hard facts of the evidence – it’s like CSI on acid, and at times I found myself getting too caught up in the adrenaline of uncovering the clues and had to remind myself that these are real people and real deaths. Because of this, the film can be very upsetting – not in an obnoxious way of chucking swooping violins underneath every interview but in a quiet, understated way, where the complete lack of both narration and interference with the footage allows for your own quiet consideration. The bittersweet ending in particular will leave you thinking for a long time, as it forces you to make up your own mind.
Due to the huge amount of evidence, stories, and people involved, it could get a little jumbled, and there were parts I would have liked to see expanded. For example, in the beginning there are many interviews with co-producer Peter Jackson (the other producer is Damian Echols – I bloody told you it was intimate) but we don’t hear from him at the resolution of the film, and I would have loved to have seen his reaction. The vast amount of information also means that it racks up quite a viewing time, almost two-and-a-half hours of harrowing viewing – but you wouldn’t know it, I was completely engrossed and it’s not often a film can totally own you like that. This film is a difficult watch, it’s frustrating and heart-breaking and scary, but you need to see it. Not only is it an engaging film, it’s an important one.