Devil's Knot (2013)

The savage murders of three young children sparks a controversial trial of three teenagers accused of killing the kids as part of a satanic ritual.

Director:

Atom Egoyan

Writers:

Paul Harris Boardman (screenplay), Scott Derrickson (screenplay)

Stars:

Colin Firth, Reese Witherspoon, Alessandro Nivola

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Reese Witherspoon	...	Pam Hobbs
Colin Firth	...	Ron Lax
Alessandro Nivola	...	Terry Hobbs
James Hamrick	...	Damien Echols
Seth Meriwether	...	Jason Baldwin
Kristopher Higgins	...	Jessie Misskelley (as Kris Higgins)
Amy Ryan	...	Margaret Lax
Robert Baker	...	Detective Bryan Ridge
Collette Wolfe	...	Glori Shettles
Rex Linn	...	Chief Inspector Gitchell
Bruce Greenwood	...	Judge Burnett
Kristoffer Polaha	...	Val Price
Matt Letscher	...	Paul Ford
Michael Gladis	...	Dan Stidham
Stephen Moyer	...	John Fogleman

Storyline

Based on the actual events of the West Memphis Three, where three young boys were savagely murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas in 1993. Spurred on by the demand from a grieving town, the local police act quickly to bring three "devil-worshipping" teenagers to trial. With their lives hanging in the balance, investigator Ron Lax is trying to find the truth between the town's need for justice and the guilt of the accused.

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Plot Keywords:

west memphis three | angry mob | police interrogation | police investigation | knife | 

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Taglines:

Im Schatten der Wahrheit (In the shadow of the truth). (German DVD cover artwork)

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 March 2014 (Philippines)

Also Known As:

Condenados

Filming Locations:

Morrow, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Worldview Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A track playing in and the guitarist's photograph on the wall of Ron Lax's (Colin Firth) office are of Robert Johnson's (1911-1938), a highly influential blues artist, who was rumoured to have sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for his mastery of the blues guitar. It turned out that the rumor/story was stolen from another blues musician named Tommy Johnson.

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Goofs

West Memphis, Arkansas is situated along the Mississippi River on some the flattest terrain in the nation. But the movie shows landscapes, especially along the creek where the bodies were found, that are far steeper and hillier than exists in or around West Memphis.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Stevie Branch: [sings] Well, that's all right, mama / That's all right for you / That's all right, mama, just any way you do.

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Connections

Features Race with the Devil (1975)

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Soundtracks

Devil Got My Woman
Written by Skip James (as Nehemiah 'Skip' James)
Performed by Skip James
Courtesy of Entertainment One U.S. LP
By arrangement with Shanachie Entertainment

User Reviews

Leaves heartbreaking mystery for viewers to 'solve'

Director Egoyan personalizes the murders of three eight-year-old boys, drawing in tight on the grief of Pam Hobbs (Witherspoon), the mother of one of the victims. At the same time, by pulling back to the POV of savvy private investigator Ron Lax (Firth), who volunteers to assist attorneys for the three teenagers charged with the crime, Egoyan portrays with a cold eye the mistakes, maneuvers and mayhem that shaped its aftermath. For viewers, the result is a creeping sense of dread that this mystery, based closely on true events, is about to veer into even darker territory than that of the crime scene itself.

Egoyan knows--as will many viewers--that the state of Arkansas considers this chilling case solved. He challenges that certainty by allowing a spider of doubt to enter and move insidiously from one scene to another, until viewers are caught in the web of this case--one that, two decades later, still holds almost everyone who's encountered it. This is "The Crucible" of our time, only here, the hysteria is felt, not seen, and the persecution continues. By understating his story, Egoyan lets a legion of details--factual and emotional--bedevil it.