Devil's Knot (2013)

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General		Extras
Category	Crime Drama	Trailer-x 2 for other Icon releases
Rating
Year Of Production	2013
Running Time	109:26
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Atom Egoyan
Studio Distributor	Icon Entertainment	Starring	Colin Firth Reese Witherspoon Alessandro Nivola Kris Higgins Seth Merriwether James Hamrick Kevin Durand
Case	?
RPI	?	Music	Mychael Dana

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     In May 1993, in a small God-fearing community in West Memphis, Arkansas, three eight year old boys were hogtied and brutally murdered, their bodies dumped in a creek. Three teenagers, accused of being involved in satanic rituals, were speedily arrested and convicted, one being sentenced to death. The Police case was flawed, to say the least, and the “West Memphis Three” became the focus of on-going appeals, media attention and a number of documentaries. In 2011 the three were released, although the State of Arkansas did not concede that a miscarriage of justice had occurred. Devil’s Knot, based upon the 2002 book Devil’s Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three by journalist and author Mara Leveritt, is a dramatised feature film of the events from director Atom Egoyan.

     Devil’s Knot is told from the dual perspectives of Pam Hobbs (Reese Witherspoon), the mother of one of the murdered boys, and Private Investigator Ron Lax (Colin Firth). Lax, while he initially feels that the three are probably guilty, disagrees with the death penalty and believes that three dead children in one town are enough, so he offers his services, pro bono, to the defence lawyers. It soon becomes clear that the police case is based upon two statements. The first is the evidence of one child who, coached by his mother, herself in trouble with the police, states that he was there when the boys were murdered. His evidence is not cross checked and the fact that his statements are contradicted by physical evidence is ignored by the police. The second is a confession to the murders by 17 year old Jessie Misskelley Jr. (Kris Higgins). Although Jessie has the mental capacity of an 8 year old, and soon retracts his confession, he implicates two other teenagers: Jason Baldwin (Seth Merriwether) and Damien Echols (James Hamrick).

     Damien is into heavy metal rock bands and is interested in the occult, enough for the local media, not to mention the town clergy and the police, to brand him guilty of the murders. As the trials of the teens commence, Lax and the defence team discover glaring discrepancies in the police procedures, such as missing evidence and alternative leads not followed up, including evidence that could point towards the step father of one of the boys, the father of another or the man covered in blood who was seen on the night of the murders. However, the community, the police and, significantly, the judge trying the case, all believe Damien, Jason and Jessie to be guilty, and they are so found by a local jury, although Lax and even Pam have come to believe that the three did not commit the murders.

     Devil’s Knot had a wealth of talent in front and behind the camera. Atom Egoyan was nominated for an Oscar for the excellent The Sweet Hereafter (1997), but lost out to James Cameron and Titanic, a clear win for spectacle over substance. Reese Witherspoon, (Walk the Line (2006)) and Colin Firth (The King’s Speech (2010) are both Oscar winners, as is composer Mychael Danna (Life of Pi (2012)), which has led questions as to why Devil’s Knot received a limited release. The issue seems to be that this case generated wide media coverage, including three HBO documentaries which canvassed the evidence and inconsistencies in the case. Egoyan makes a drama of the events, but on focusing on two people at the edges of the actual investigation the film does not deal satisfactorily with either the forensic complexities of the case nor the personalities.

     Devil’s Knot is actually caught between telling at least three stories. It covers inconsistencies in the police procedures, including the deliberate suppression of evidence and the difficulties faced by the defence due to some very biased rulings by the trial judge, and suggests some suspicious behaviour by alternative suspects, including Terry Hobbs (Alessandro Nivola) and John Mark Byers (Kevin Durand), the stepfather and father of two of the murdered boys respectively, another teen and the Negro man seen covered with blood, without taking any of it very far. As well, the role of Lax is more a sifter of information than dramatic and Colin Firth does not convince as a southern man while the subplot about his divorce and ex-wife go nowhere. In truth, however, Firth does not have a lot to work with. Reese Witherspoon has more to do. Some critics have found her performance flat, and it is certainly mostly undemonstrative, but essaying a mother whose child has been murdered who starts to suspect her husband could easily have gone into hysterics. I think she is fine, and the lesser parts are all well-handled, especially James Hamrick as a creepy Damien.

     There is no doubt that with the quality of talent involved, Devil’s Knot could have been better. It perhaps tries to do too much, or be too factual; a number of characters, especially police officers, just appear momentarily then disappear, which interferes with the drama. However, if you forget that this is a film is based on real events, and view it as a mystery and a drama, the initial sequences leading up to the finding of the bodies create an eerie atmosphere that is effective while the depiction of the hysteria in the community created by the media and the church, where listening to heavy metal rock is denounced as the first step towards satanic rites and human sacrifice, is telling. Devil’s Knot as a film in its own right is well made, interesting, tense, frustrating and not a little tragic.

Video

     Devil’s Knot is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1 and is 16x9 enhanced. The IMDb gives the theatrical ratio as 2.35:1, but adds a DVD ratio of 1.85:1, which is the ratio of both the Blu-ray and DVD released in the US. Our Region 4 DVD is thankfully in the same ratio as the film was shown theatrically.

     The print is sharp and nicely detailed. The colours, especially the greens, are crisp and natural. Blacks and shadow detail are very good, especially noticeable in the scenes in the woods, brightness and contrast is consistent and skin tones good, without evidence of that digital yellowish tinge.

     Other than slight ghosting against buildings with movement, artefacts and marks are absent.

     The layer chance at 61:32 created a slight pause during a scene change.

    English subtitles for the hearing impaired are available.

Video Ratings Summary

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Shadow Detail
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Audio

     Audio is an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track at 448 Kbps.

     This is a low key audio track, perfectly adequate for a drama without action sequences. The dialogue is easy to hear, clear and centred. The surrounds and rears were used mostly for music and some slight ambience. The sub-woofer was seldom heard except for music, but nor was it needed.

     The music score by Mychael Dana was ominous and brooding when it needed to be, quietly reflective at other times.

     Lip synchronisation fine.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
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Trailers

     The only extras are trailers for The Captive (2:00) and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2:11) which play on start-up. They cannot be selected from the menu.

     The Region 1 US version of Devil’s Knot includes a short making of (7 min), a cast featurette (8 min) and deleted scenes (6 min). However, it is in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio. I believe the Region 2 DVD is similar to ours but the only review I can find is of the Region B UK Blu-ray; it is 2.40:1 and as an extra has 20 min of deleted scenes.

     Some shortish featurettes vs the correct aspect ratio? Buyer’s choice, but I would take the aspect ratio.

     I had mixed feeling while watching Devil’s Knot. It is a well-made film that in places is compelling and builds an eerie atmosphere but at other times it feels stodgy, burdened by the facts of the true story it tries to tell as a drama. It is not totally successful as a factual reconstruction or as a drama, but is not a bad film; watch it as a mystery and there is a lot to like.

     The DVD has good video and audio. The extras are only a couple of unrelated trailers.

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Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall