Devil´s Knot

It is so sad when you hear about a child is murdered. In my mind there can be no reason to kill a child, if you do i think you should burn in hell. Unfortunately you can´t stop some people from doing this, even if i wish we could. There are so many cases every year, where children have ended up dead . Hopefully things will change in the future, and kids can be saved before it is too late. One case in Usa, that got a lot of media attention, is the case known as the West Memphis Three, in 1993. 3 young boys were found murdered and tied up in a river, as investigators arrested a couple of young teenages, belived to be satan worshipers. Did these teenagers really killed the boys, or was someone else guilty behind these brutal murders ? Devil´s Knot is a motion picture, based on the case West Memphis Three. With a cast of Reese Witherspoon, Colin Firth, Amy Ryan and Bruce Greenwood among others, is Devil´s Knot a fascinating look into the case that took America by storm in the 90´s, or is this a thriller drama that soon will be forgotten ?

3 boys, Jet Jurgensmeyer ( Stevie Branch ), Christopher Byers ( Brandon Spink ) and Michael Moore ( Paul Boardman Jr ), go riding away on their bike one day, but none of them come bak home. Mother of Stevie Branch, Pamela Hobbs ( Reese Witherspoon ), and Stevie´s stepfather Terry Hobbs ( Alessandro Nivola ) both go out to look for Stevie and the boys. The other boys families are also very worried, as police begin to search all over West Memphis, Arkansas. In a river the boys are found tied up and brutally murdered. Police Lieutenant Bryn Ridge ( Robert Baker ), who discovered clothes of the missing boys, try to put the pieces together of what happened. Ron Lax ( Colin Firth ), private investigator, is chosen to help police work on the case. 3 teenagers are arrested, Damien Echols ( James Hamrick ), Jason Baldwin ( Seth Meriwether ) and Jessie Misskelley Jr. ( Kristopher Higgins ). After 4 hours of interrogation, Jessie Misskelley Jr. confess, and the boys are going to trial. Private Investigator Ron Lax is not sure these boys really did it, so he tries to find answers anywhere he can. But the question is, will someone belive him ?

Devil´s Knot did not get a cinema release in Europe, why ? Well, to be honest this feels more like a straight to dvd release. That does not mean that this is a bad movie, but you can tell this is almost made as a TV movie, with a bigger budget than usual. The combination of Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth, in a law thriller drama, works for the most part. As long as the story focus on how teenagers could brutally murder small boys. The fact that this is based on a true story, makes you feel sad for the families that had to deal with life, after their children were found murdered. Director Atom Egoyan, directed a very good thriller drama called Felicia´s Journey, with Bob Hoskins ( may he rest in peace ) in the lead role. He is now back in the thriller drama genre, and this time he tries a different path with Devil´s Knot. I will say that i enjoy Felicia´s Journey more than Devil´s Knot, because it was a powerful motion picture. This is still a thriller drama that include some interesting details, with a cast of talented actors. But there is a problem, i feel that this could have been even deeper and more emotional. I would have wanted to see a deeper portrait in the case, how police found evidence, and how they managed to find who was guilty of these brutal murders. Everything goes pretty quick when teenagers are arrested, we don´t get to see much at all about any evidence. Devil´s Knot could have been more thrilling, and more heavier in the storyline. As a law thriller drama, this is not all bad, but there is something missing here. Considering the case this could have been made with more emotion, here we just feel a glimpse of that.

Rating: DD