West of Memphis 2012

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: It tells the story of a terrible crime compounded by a grave injustice that's been remedied, but only in part, so it's impossible to have a single or simple response to the movie. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: The film is inspiring because it has a semi-happy ending attached to a love story. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: A real-life horror story, made no less shocking by the familiarity of its early scenes. Read more

Noel Murray, AV Club: Shows how our advocacy model of trial law can lead to the state spinning stories they know are probably untrue, and then using their authority to stand strong against any alternate theory, no matter how many millions of people believe it. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Berg's film is as much an indictment of the state of Arkansas' legal system as it is the prosecution. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: While the "Paradise Lost" films captured events as they unfolded in the heat of battle, "West of Memphis" has the luxury of at least partial closure. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: Less an investigative report than a portrait of the community that forms around an ongoing court case, this conveys a patient understanding of the intricacies of law and human behavior that may be termed Kieslowskian. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Dubious evidence; suspicious confessions; conveniently located "poor white trash" (Echols' words) to take the rap: The case stank from the beginning, Berg's film argues. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: It's not a new story, true, but "West of Memphis" makes it both extremely personal and universally painful. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: It artfully sketches out the events for anyone who's coming in cold, but basically, its strategy is to take what we already know and go deeper. Read more

John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: Thorny, blood-boiling and finely made, it deserves a theatrical push. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: And justice for all? Hardly. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: Berg's film helps illuminate a case that should certainly be the shame of the state of Arkansas, and perhaps the criminal justice system of the entire United States. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Even if you already know the eventual outcome, the suspense as the three convicts file a last-ditch appeal is excruciating. Read more

Mark Jenkins, NPR: It took way too long, but the crowd finally bested the mob. Read more

Linda Holmes, NPR: While West Of Memphis won't surprise anyone who's followed the case, it does play its own role, particularly in illuminating how unsatisfying the end of the story really was. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Take this as ultimately more personal journal than investigation. Read more

Sara Stewart, New York Post: This is a compelling and comprehensive guide to one of the most Kafkaesque crime stories in American history. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: "West of Memphis" is the fourth film about one of the most heinous cases of wrongful conviction in American judicial history. Do we need a fourth film? Yes, I think we do. Read more

David Germain, Associated Press: "West of Memphis" is nonfiction filmmaking at its best, a film with a fierce point of view yet one that doesn't pretend to have all the answers or a monopoly on truth. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: A true-crime story that begins with a notorious murder case and grows into a chilling indictment of the American justice system. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: We feel like we're watching an overlong true-crime television episode and not a movie. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: What sets this film apart from previous efforts to document the story is that Jackson and Walsh financed a private investigative team with legal and forensic experts who re-examined old evidence, conducted new interviews and found new witnesses. Read more

Sam Adams, Time Out: It's hard to imagine how someone could study this case for so long and yet miss its most critical lesson. Read more

John Anderson, Variety: [A] first-rate investigative docu on the notorious West Memphis Three case, its questionable prosecution and its dubious resolution. Read more

Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice: This is a movie that can stun you. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Happy, sad, inspiring, infuriating, right and terribly wrong, all at the same time. Read more