The story of the West Memphis Three has been told in various formats. The most famous has to be Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky’s multi-part Paradise Lost documentary series. But we’re about to get a new one – a star-studded one. Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan directs Devil’s Knot, with Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon, and EW.com has two First-Look photos to share.
Egoyan’s movie focuses on a grieving mother (Witherspoon) involved in the case, as well as a detective (Firth) trying to put the pieces together and figure out if the three goth teens accused of murder are guilty. It will take a different approach to what has become very familiar material, focusing on adults instead of the boys wrongfully accused. And it will rely on the strength of individual performances from Witherspoon, Firth and co-stars Amy Ryan, Dane DeHaan, Stephen Moyer, and Mireille Enos.
What’s surprising is the fact that we haven’t seen a trailer for Devil’s Knot. The movie is seeking distribution in the U.S., but is about to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival next week, so footage has to be ready to cut together into a tease. On top of that, TIFF’s official YouTube page has 179 trailers for movies that are screening at this year’s fest … and yet, there’s no Knot clip. So these images literally are the first look we are getting of Firth’s character in the movie.
I’m very interested to see how Egoyan, a Canadian, approaches what has become a very American tragedy – a miscarriage of justice that eventually was resolved, but not without tearing a small Arkansas community to shreds. The biggest obstacle, I believe, will be finding fresh ways to present familiar material, because if you have seen any parts of Berlinger and Sinofsky’s trilogy (which I’m including below, if you have the time to watch them), and the Peter Jackson-produced West of Memphis … which also went to the Toronto Film Festival. We’ll report on Devil’s Knot once it finally screens, and will post a trailer, of course, the moment it drops.
