Variety
A tactful, dignified job... the result nevertheless comes across as a flat, ponderous proposition.
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Devil's Knot
Dramatisation of the notorious 1993 West Memphis murder of three small-town boys. In the rush for a scapegoat, police and prosecutors charge three innocent teenagers who - with a proclivity for black clothes and listening to Metallica - are cast as deviant satanic cultists. Stars Reese Witherspoon as a grieving mother who grows increasingly troubled by the lynch-mob fever, and Colin Firth as a private investigator who challenges the guilty verdicts. From acclaimed director Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter).
2013Rating: M, Mature themes, crime scene images and coarse language114 minsUSA
BiographyDramaThrillerTrue Story & Biography
- Director:
- Atom Egoyan ('The Sweet Hereafter', 'Exotica', 'Ararat')
- Writer:
- Paul Harris BoardmanScott Derrickson
- Cast:
- Reese WitherspoonMireille EnosColin FirthDane DeHaanMartin HendersonAmy RyanKevin DurandStephen MoyerAlessandro NivolaElias KoteasBruce Greenwood
Devil's Knot / Reviews
Total Film
Egoyan listlessly retraces the trial's tragic course but uncovers nothing new about human nature in the belaboured process.
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The New York Times
The real-life characters, as shown in the documentaries, are far more colorful and quirky than they appear in these well-acted but comparatively safe performances.
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The Guardian
Haunting artistry aside, it's hard to see what Egoyan brings to the table that hasn't already been covered in print, on screen and elsewhere in the media.
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The Dissolve
Egoyan doesn't make this material his own, so much as he halfheartedly restages what a few good documentarians have already shot.
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Empire Magazine
A decent retelling, although lacking the gut-punch impact of the Peter Jackson-produced West Of Memphis.
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