The Exonerated

Intelligent, mostly well acted filming of the stage play, as 6 people exonerated from death row tell their true stories, mostly as monologues, against a black background.

A powerful argument against the death penalty, it feels a bit stuck between embracing it's theatricality of approach, and trying to work as a more cinematic piece both in the way its shot, the occasional awkward 'flashbacks' and in the 'size' of the performances, which range from understated and small to quite theatrical and presentational.

But whatever questions one might have about the stylistic choices, there's no question that these are powerful, important true stories in that every rarer thing, a dramatized American film that head on addresses an issue with passion and intelligence.

This film places the audience as observer to personal interviews with ex-cons whose death row convictions were overturned, therefore they have been released from prison. They describe the circumstances leading to arrest and conviction, and their states of life and mind before they were arrested. It is a biting commentary on the tragic state of racial and socioeconomic policeable inequality and abuse, which then highlights severe failures of the US legal system. It is maddening in its portrayal of police prejudice and ineptitude. There is no riveting plot, instead there is riveting dialog which makes you sit up and listen - then makes you think again about the death penalty. Less involving than traditional story-teller movies like Dead Man Walking or The Life of David Gale, it is no-less impactful and thought- provoking. The stories are tragic. It is a stage-production which is well brought to the big screen, and deserves the larger exposure derived from theatrical/DVD distribution. A fantastic piece of cinematic art.

I knew before this film that the justice system in the U.S. is far from perfect. and having watched it only reinforced that in my mind. As far as I know, everything that is said in the film is from a transcript of some kind. They are actual words, not inventions of a filmmaker with an agenda. While the filmmaker probably does have an agenda, that doesn't make the ideas and content of the film any less valid.

For me, this film could stand as the entire argument against the death penalty. Punishments are supposed to be about justice. Justice is not a system where six innocent people can be sentenced to die because of purposeful deceit or accidental human error. In reality there have been many more people exonerated from death row, but that doesn't make the argument any stronger. It should only take one death of an innocent to convince any rational person that this punishment is not morally sound.

There's an announcement at the start of this tv-movie, but it bears repeating here: every word of dialogue in this movie was taken from interviews, police and court records. Which means that not only are the six stories true, but they're told in as close to a documentary style as possible. In an added truthful layer, the end of the movie shows a small interview with each of the real people. The screenplay, comprised entirely of facts, hit home the message that in the end, the truth will set you free.

In case you haven't figured it out by the synopsis, this is a very upsetting movie. Even though the synopsis tells you that all six people in the story eventually become exonerated, the stories of their arrests, court trials, and time in prison, are heartbreaking. Brian Dennehy's character was wrongfully imprisoned for murdering his parents. Aidan Quinn's character was permanently brutalized while in jail. David Brown Jr.'s character was convicted even though the description of the man who really committed the murder was a white man with long red hair. Delroy Lindo's character also didn't match the description of the real criminal, but he was convicted by an all-white Southern jury despite having an alibi. Susan Sarandon's character was accused of killing a police officer, even though her only crime was incredibly bad judgment. Danny Glover's character was a teenager at the time of the crime he didn't commit, and from police bullying he gave a false confession.

Director Bob Balaban chose a distinctive style for his movie, one that purposely focuses on words rather than theatrics. There are no sets, but instead every actor sits in a little chair and talks to the camera as if they're in an interview. Sometimes ancillary characters like policemen or judges are brought into the little black room, but they perform their "lines" in the same style.

Again, in case you couldn't tell from the synopsis, this movie takes a very strong stance against the death penalty. If you already agree with that message, you'll really take this movie to heart and use it as an argument the next time you clash with someone of the opposing view. If you do believe in the death penalty, it's not a guarantee that this movie will change your mind, but it'll try its very best. I watched this in a group of people with varied opinions, and those who started off believing in capital punishment still did at the end of the movie - but they were not unmoved by the stories and the real people behind them. This is a very emotional movie with some fantastic acting. It's not really possible to enjoy it, but it'll tug on your heart and really make you think. Law and order were established with the very best of intentions, but there have been some absolutely horrifying mistakes and deliberate cruelties done throughout the years. Make sure you have a box of Kleenex in the house before you press 'play'.

The truth is tough, the truth must be faced, and the truth is what THE EXONERATED is all about. A project started by writers Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen in 2000 when, in response to a lecture on capital punishment, the couple was moved by the telephone voice of one of the many innocent people on death row who had been falsely convicted of murders they did not in truth commit. This lead to a commitment on the part of Blank and Jensen to interview six such imprisoned people who had spent years of their lives on Death Row only to be eventually exonerated and released. The result of this research was a play that not only was on Broadway but also traveled the country. Now director Bob Balaban has transformed this play into one of the most searingly powerful dramas about our penal system that has ever been produced.

Each of the six condemned people on death row is portrayed by a gifted actor and the script is taken 100% from interviews and testimony and court records of these exonerated victims. They each tell their story of the incident that resulted in their wrongful arrest and conviction, their experience while confined to Death Row, their thoughts of living in threat of execution, and their manner of dealing with the world once released. These different people are portrayed by Brian Dennehy, Delroy Lindo, Susan Sarandon, Danny Glover, Aidan Quinn, and David Brown, Jr. Adding some significant reenacted dialogue from spouses and police and jury are such fine actors as Lee Turgesen, Bobby Cannavale, Laurence Luckinbill with a host of others in minor roles.

At the end of the film each of these actors who have been creating the characters are faded into the actual exonerated victims who speak directly to us about their response. The overwhelming message is one against capital punishment, racism, against railroading innocent people into the prison system without the fairness of well-guided appeals, against all the flaws that besiege our penal system. The effect is shattering and staggering. This is NOT a docudrama, but a sensitively written, produced, directed and acted film. It is a film that every citizen of the world should see. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp