HeadlinesExotic Boring

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Casey Black Prior to watching this film I had taken a class that spent about a month or so looking in-depth into the case of The West Memphis Three very heavily and even getting the opportunity to meet with Dan Stidham, Jessie Misskelly's defense attorney. So watching the film for the first time I was pretty critical to see how the characters would be portrayed and perhaps hint at specifically that Terry Hobbs had in fact been the real murderer. I was quite pleasantly surprised that the movie took a rather objective stand about the suspected murderer besides the three West Memphis teens, Damien, Jason, and Jessie. The movie presented the other theories that have surfaced; including as mentioned before, Terry Hobbs, John Mark Byers, and the mysterious "Mr. Bojangles". I appreciated those view points and really gave the viewer the chance to create their own theory. I thought the facts in the film were almost entirely accurate and had a few misconstrued details, but where won't one find that in a movie 'based' on real-life events. One of the things that I enjoyed thoroughly about the film was the credit and presence on Ron Lax in the trials of the three teens. In the film he took on the role of most likely the lead male character which I did not expect. When reading and researching the case by itself Lax does not really play a large part in the trials of the three teens. I felt as if this film gave Lax the credit he deserved as well as Stidham's dedication to the three teens when the two other attorneys dropped off after the sentence. Another character that I felt got a little lost in the film was Micheal Moore along with Chris Byers. All in all I felt like the film gave an accurate representation of facts and visual images to the story. However, the documentaries would hold more fact filled information if one desires more information about the West Memphis Three.

jtindahouse It's always interesting with films based on true stories to see how they go about things. How closely to the truth do they stick, do they give their own opinions on matters, what narrative do they use etc. 'Devil's Knot' goes for a bizarre mix between being an emotional drama at times, through to be nothing more than a factual reenactment you'd find in nearly every documentary at others. Without the former there really wouldn't have been much point in making it, let alone bringing in big stars such as Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth. It's hardly a seamless crossover between the two however, mostly due to poor direction by Atom Egoyan.What carries it though is that it's an interesting case and that's enough to keep the viewer tuned in. Withersoon and Firth are far from top form - Witherspoon looks like she's phoning it in in most scenes and Firth looks disinterested and never changes his emotional level once in the film. For a film dealing with the death of 3 young boys things never reach the emotional peak they should have. The one effective scene was the hugging scene in the classroom with Witherspoon.It's far from perfect, but it is fascinating at times nonetheless. It doesn't force its opinion on you (at least not too much) which I really liked. None of the scenes drag and the dialogue, while occasionally clunky, is well written for the most part. The case itself it probably more memorable than the film, but I wouldn't have known about the case without the film so I won't complain too much.

bowmanblue Okay, so I'll admit that I'm writing this review as a parent of a small child. That way, you may understand that watching a film about a child who's kidnapped and murdered is always going to affect me more. Plus this actually happened. 'The Devil's Knot' is based on a real incident in American in 1993 when three boys were found murdered in a small town and three teenage boys were subsequently arrested.By all accounts the film is actually quite close to the truth, or at least, what is perceived as the truth. Obviously there is some ambiguity as to the accused's guilt, that way there is some proper interest in the story. Colin Firth plays the investigator who doubts the 'open and shut' of the case and starts looking a little deeper into what transpired, rather than just following the inevitable thirst for *any* blood from the local townsfolk. The first thing that struck me was that he did an American accent well. I'm not aware of any other film where he's put on a U.S. accent and he did it pretty well.Reece Witherspoon is one of the grieving mothers and plays a naturally sympathetic role well, drawing on her ability to pull off a decent southern American accent.As the 'killers' are quickly apprehended, much of the film is centred around the following trial and courtroom battle.Basically, the film is an extended courtroom drama, so, if you're into those, you should enjoy it. Personally, I could have done without seeing the moment when the youngsters are 'found' – it's quite upsetting, based on how real it looks. But then that's just me speaking as possible an overprotective parent.All in all, a good film – difficult subject matter and handled well in a balanced way. I'm not sure I'd want to watch it again, but I don't feel like I've wasted the two hours I invested in it.

Shirley Jones As other reviewers have already stated the documentaries are wonderfully done. They followed the complete history of this bizarre case and are well worth a watch. Besides the first three, Peter Jackson has also done one quite recently.Atom Egoyan films are always interesting - until now. I felt I was watching a made for TV film (before the days of our premium cable shows). This had an outstanding cast. In an effort for realism all of the big stars looked like us normal frumpy people with bad hairstyles - except for Colin Firth - he stands out like a (gorgeous) sore thumb. Couldn't understand why he was allowed to look like a movie star and for me it did effect the "everyday man, retro period" look I felt Mr. Egoyan was going for. The cast is all excellent but the editing, action and dialogue doesn't give them much to do.As previous reviewers pointed out, one problem lies in condensing this complex troubling story into a couple hours. Usually a short textual summary at end of film gives you info on what happens to main characters after film ends. This summary covers decades and doesn't do justice to the bulk of what happened. The story is so hard hitting because it took decades to resolve. Perhaps the director wanted to focus on the piece he did but it almost felt like - OK, here we are two hours - let's wrap it up and write up the rest. He is such a strong filmmaker that I am sure I missed the point of why he did this film the way he did of such a well documented case.And, finally the larger problem is simply that - this film is sluggish. It isn't just really really slow pacing. It drags. It trips. It feels like it really wants to lay down for a nap. Perhaps those who don't know the story were fascinated but for me the whole movie is dull, which is astonishing given its subject matter. For instance, so many times the camera pans to Reese Witherspoon and just hangs there on the same sad look she wears each time this happens. Or, she and Colin Firth exchange long meaningful glances over and over until far into the film. Little action, little interesting dialogue, not much cohesive dialogue at all. I felt all these terrific actors were given nothing to do. Even Colin Firth has a surprisingly small passive part in the film given his character's relevance to the story.Just cannot recommend this. Definitely see the documentaries instead and then re-watch The Sweet Hereafter!