The mystery is still unsolved, but the boys known as the West Memphis Three are now free, after being railroaded by a justice system perverted by the pursuit to find an answer, even if it wasn’t the truth. And after a handful of documentaries and extensive media coverage, the saga is now getting the dramatic feature treatment thanks to Atom Egoyan.
Featuring an all-star roster including Colin Firth, Reese Witherspoon, Amy Ryan, Mireille Enos, Stephen Moyer, Alessandro Nivola and Dane DeHaan, this is a celeb-driven journey through the story you mostly already know. But it’s almost alarming how dull Egoyan makes the material, which is undeniably compelling even if you’re already familiar with it. As we wrote in our review from TIFF, there’s a potential “powerful piece of filmmaking. But as it stands, ‘Devil’s Knot’ gets so tied up in the mechanics of where the West Memphis Three have been, it has no insight into where this case might be going.”
“Devil’s Knot” opens on May 9th. Watch below.