Filmmaking Crosses Over Into Activism

Rating: 7/10 (31 March 2016)

The film is set mostly in the 1920s, but the hokiness of some of its scenes (although, according to IMDb, "Virtually every event depicted in the film appears as cited in legal documents, with dialog often taken verbatim from court transcripts") and its sappy score are straight out of the 1990s. However, all of that is overcome by tremendous acting performances, especially from Jolie (but not Eddie Alderson, who was not convincing as Sanford Clark), as well as by the incredible story, which is mostly true.
I can't believe that this could happen to somebody. This is yet another frightening example of the dangers inherent in handing over unchecked power to any law enforcement organization. If we do not pay attention to history, we are doomed to repeat it.
Additionally, this story reminds me of the value of today's technology and social media. While many complain about how much easier it is to invade someone's privacy, it is also a lot easier to expose corruption. Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Oscar Grant...these cases are not a new trend developing amongst police departments. This kind of rampant corruption and abuse of authority has existed for long before anyone can remember. But now we finally have the tools to expose them.
And it's not just the police. As an attorney, I have personally stopped a mental health professional from wrongfully committing a person to a mental health institution over what basically amounted to a petty verbal argument between the doctor and the patient.
Respect to Straczynski for getting this movie made. This is where filmmaking crosses over into activism. If someone just told you the facts of this case, you might struggle to fathom how this would play out in actuality...how many people would have to screw up, be complicit, or just flat out do nothing to perpetuate this evil...and just how many people would have to decide to do the right thing, even at risk to their own career, financial interests, or even personal safety, in order to unf*ck this mess. This movie very effectively portrays how this unfortunate situation could very plausibly go down...and while there are many more checks and balances today to help prevent some of the previous injustices from happening again, perhaps some who would previously dismiss all police corruption and mental health abuse as wild conspiracy theories might have their minds changed just a little bit by this film.
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