Dream/Killer

Not sure weather it's me, or the times (most likely,the times), but documentaries seem so much different now than from what I remember. With Media being so much more apart of our lives than ever before, it makes it even easier to weave a doc that acts like a movie plot narrative.

Case in point, Dream/Killer is focused on Bill Ferguson, whose son, Ryan was convicted of murder. Knowing his son well and after seeing what happen during his trial, Bill is certain that his son got a bum rap and spends the next ten years obsessing over the case so much that he is able to find the holes Ryan's trail fell into in order to get a retrial.

It was laid out like an intense drama. They set up the events of the story first, then we really got to know Bill as a character, and they make us understand his determination, which makes the suspense of the movie even better, cause I could have just looked up on Google what happen before the film was over, but the documentary builds an investment in wanting to see how they unfold the hold thing

It's a lot like this movie Conviction with Hillary Swank and Sam Rockwell where a single mother becomes a lawyer to get smart enough to get her brother out of a lifetime sentence.

Conviction was based on a true story, but I guess that story happen before Trails were video taped, one hundred news channels existed to cover one story, and everyone had a camera on their phone to post something online.

Dream/Killer had all those elements, and what ever they did not have to tell the narrative with is when they used animation, like when Ryan tell us what it was like to spend 10 years in prison, animation is fairly popular in contemporary docs,

And of course, they used an age old documentary trick... Interviews from those who witness the events unravel first hand.

As a contemporary style documentary, it was done very basic and average, but that's good cause it let nothing distract it from the amazing story of a father's determination and love of his son.

Great crime drama!

This is the story of a scum bag prosecutor who still works and is now a judge using a high profile case against a 17 year old kid and getting a conviction. Morals be dammed. This crane fella is pond scum. Happy Ryan is out. What a great documentary!

Exactly what a documentary should be, tells the facts, but keeps the storyline moving and doesn't get hung up in the details. This case is really unbelievable, sentencing a young man to life in prison with no physical evidence. The fight to appeal the sentence is a commendation to Ferguson's dad and lawyer Zellner. It's a good documentary with interviews and insights, but short and sweet.

It's a shame that the real killers never got punished for taking someones life away. The movie is brilliant, we need more stuff like that to fix this shamefull system!!!

Kevin Crane and the two detectives in this case are the real criminals. They coerced and falsified information against Ryan who was from the start an innocent person. Scumbags at their finest who acted no more than like TV salesman getting a sale over the line with no regard for the law, morality or their primary purpose to treat people as innocent until proven guilty. Crane and his detectives should be sued for $10 million each being $1m per year each for Ryan's wrongful and corrupt imprisonment. They al need to be jailed as they are the true criminals in this case and showing just how much the US legal system is completely corrupt and does not fulfil it's actual charter of accused are innocent until proven guilty. These clowns are let's get another notch on the belt no matter what. Crane and the detectives are a disgrace to their profession and need to be punished if not already. Pathetic humans!!