A fairy tale disguised behind the immortal five words "based on a true story".

Rating: Null/10 (15 March 2000)

This movie is one of those films that says it's based on a true story, but seems more like a fantasy; sort of a dumbed up modern fairy tale. The first half is implausible, poorly written, poorly executed, and underminds the viewers intelligence. The evil sheriff was such a needless and undeveloped addition to the story. The inclusion of the child molestor was also unnecessary, and also manipulative, since that one incident seems to shape the rest of his life. Worst yet is the fact that Carter most likely did commit the murders. The screenplay never allows for any character development or any logical connections between the themes in different scenes. The editing between the flashback scenes is sloppy, and, while the plot points aren't confusing, the pondering viewer is likely to get frustrated because the movie barely ever questions or answers "Why?". Why are they like this? What's wrong with society to allow this to happen? It also seems like all the times that the movie does give some insight of why people are who they are, the explanation the movie gives is completely untrue.
Ok, so the first half is pretty awful whether or not anything happened in it was actually true. In my opinion, the second half was well worth the wait. Regardless of how likely the events were, the story told a more interesting, less manipulative theme. The first half was manipulated to show how evil white people are, and how the African Americans in this country have been greatly oppressed for so long. This is definitely true, but you will never get an accurate or complete understanding by the this movie. The second half, however, becomes a story about hope, and a very interesting one as well. Ok, so it also becomes a courtroom movie, a genre that's been overdone, particularly when it's supposedly "based on a true story". But it also has a message of persistance, about never giving up. It's a story about friendship, a story about letting yourself open to avoid self destruction. Ok, it's still a little hokey, but at least it's better than mindless drivel of the first half. It's also hard not to like the characters in this movie, particularly Carter, Lezrah, and the three Canadians.
This movie has it's share of problems, and BIG problems none the less. However, overall, the film is worth the time it takes to see it. People that are afraid of prison movies because the intense drama should not be afraid of this movie, as it does not tackle any issue very deeply. People that like intense drama might like this movie as well. Just be aware that it's more than just a little like Patch Adams. My rating: 7/10.