Devil’s Knot Review

Somehow setting aside the fact that four documentaries have covered this ground awfully well over the past two decades, Atom Egoyan's dramatisation of the West Memphis Three case - during which a trio of Arkansas teens were tried and seemingly railroaded for the murders of three young boys - doesn't hold a candle to his own tales of small-town trauma (namely, The Sweet Hereafter). The considerable ensemble often seems to be regurgitating transcripts and depositions even when out of court, with only Reese Witherspoon's grieving mother bringing much genuine emotion to a film supposedly indignant over injustice and uncertainty. (Colin Firth’s pro bono investigator is handed a non-starter divorce subplot for his troubles.) The result feels more like a stiff book report than a sobering account of an all-American tragedy.