Amazingly done. Brings to light the corruption in the american justice system.

Interesting, but mediocre, much like most of Egoyan's work. He delivers entertaining with intriguing stories like this one, but always with a low ceiling, really

Devil's Knot – Im Schatten der Wahrheit ist eine Filmbiografie von Atom Egoyan. Der Film basiert auf dem gleichnamigen Bestseller von Mara Leveritt, der den Fall der West Memphis Three beschreibt.… Drei Teenager werden angeklagt, drei Kinder bei einem Ritualmord getötet zu haben. Doch der Privatdetektiv Lax ist nicht von der Schuld der Jugendlichen überzeugt… Ein durchaus sehenswerter Film, aber er will die gesamte Geschichte erzählen… Es ist schwierig, sie so zu komprimieren und in zwei Stunden zu erzählen… Die Wahrheit ist seltsamer als die Inszenierung und das ist mangelhaft für eine Filmbiografie… Kurz gesagt, Devil's Knot hat Schwierigkeiten, sich zu entscheiden, zwischen einer Filmbiografie oder einem Kriminalfilm…

This movie was very suspenseful. I would've liked to see a different ending.

Don't waste your time. "Based on a true story" is no excuse for lazy storytelling and inept character development.

A great film should be made on this case. Thanks to a weird focus, this isn't even an especially good one.

It's chaotic and messy, but then the interviews, Police processes, and general timeline of events, were all also messy and chaotic… I mean, there are STILL active, ongoing, arguments and anomalies within the case against the West Memphis Three. It should have been a more exacting, thought out, and therefore more taut and engaging court thriller, but it seems to have lacked directorial insight at a level that would have made that possible… as though Atom Egoyan was happy on the coat-tails of others. A shame, as this has the cast, mood, and feel of something better

Very well made movie, actors are at their best in this movie, sad story but movie does it well

This is a relatively decent crime drama film, about a creepy case involving satanism and (youngish) teens and boys. I thought Reece Witherspoon and Colin Firth gave good performances, mainly Reece Witherspoon. It is a bit of a gritty watch at times and its not fast paced or full of action but its reasonably thought provoking and pretty well filmed. The use of music in the background is good - its not over stated or lacking. At the end of the film text gives details about what happened after the events depicted and I felt the very last moment was quite reminiscent of 'Stand By Me'. This is a g pretty good film I'd recommend, yes.

Bruce Greenwoods portrayal of a dispassionat judge somehow mirrors how tangled Devil's Knot is. We hardly get to know even the main characters, and much of the plot is as muddled as what could have been clear case evidence. Many of the actors try hard, but it can never save the total, though James Hamrick does a very convincing Damien Echols, and Mireille Enos is amazing as the misplaced character Vicki. Also, it's just not recommended to have British actors endeavour southern US accents, though Colin Firth doesn't make the worst effort, because the bottom low record belongs to Daniel Craig. All in all, the documentaries Lost Paradise is a much better alternative.

Atom Egoyan takes a large leap out of his comfort zone to direct this more mainstream-oriented crime and court drama based on a real mysterious murder. It's a decent enough watch but would have been greatly serviced by Atom Egoyan's signature style of directing and writing. Colin Firth in particular is a real highlight here.

This movie really impressed me. Everything was perfectly recreated, so much at times it felt like I was rewatching the documentary " Paradise Lost". Resse's role ( Pam Hobbs) was spotless. I would rewatch this film! 5 stars!!

I feel Like this movie really showed the reality of how it is to lose a child. Did they prosecute the wrong people- I don't know? If my child was dead j would do whatever it took to Find his or her killer. As a parent- I am sorry we will all be crazy- that would be the worst loss ever.

Missed opportunity for such an important movie. The worst casting ever with Reese Witherspoon in a lead. She completely ruins it. Not believable in the least. The story is the only thing that keeps this movie from being a "1". The supporting cast far outshines her. I would rather have seen a lesser known actress true to the local than Witherspoon. Actor playing Damian is not much better but then he's not a well known actor. I've read the books, seen interviews and the other movies. What a shame this one is ruined by her. Otherwise it wasn't awful. Elias Koteas, Mireille Enos and Kevin Durand always deliver. Shame the bigger roles didn't go to them.

Really bias movie , one of the producer is one of the killers smh

I thought the movie was acted well but it felt low budget tv moving.

Interesting story, being British I had not heard of this case before so now I am enlightened. Despite some criticism I thought it was a well told story of the true events. Although I read the Colin Firth character "Ron Lax" had only a minor contribution to the case itself. A heavily pregnant Reese plays a great part as the grieving mom. I didn't realise she was pregnant, I thought just overweight for the part. The story lost me sometimes, but looking at the documentaries its all a little clearer. I thought the little boy "Stevie" played a great part also.

Without reading any reviews (silly) we sat through all of this to conclude it was a total waste of resources on all fronts. The fact that the entire case including the behaviour of the Police & Judiciary is still unresolved & completely unsatisfactory means this is not film material but a case study to put before USA authorities to put their house in order.

The film's not actually as bad as people say, and the recreations of the crime scene and environs is chilling, but it does suffer from a serious issue of focus. The film has no narrative about the events. That should come as no surprise since the case has no resolution, but there needs to be some direction to a film. Inasmuch as the film makes a point it's that the boys are pretty much unambiguously innocent, although you can see why Echols in particular would put people off. The difficulty is that it doesn't really spell out why they were blamed beyond being a little weird. This was a case of a Satanist panic and the film shows none of it. Throughout the film there is a startling lack of motivation for pretty much anything. You gather that police incompetence may have been a factor, but only obliquely. You get that moral panic was a problem but you don't see much of it. Probably the only area they cover well is the unreliability and coaching of the testimony, where a confession containing numerous inaccuracies can be regarded as incontrovertible proof of guilt. I think the idea was that the film would present the facts and let the audience piece them together. If so it was a noble experiment, but it hardly provides us with all the facts and we do need something more to guide us. A kid offering damning testimony that's a little out there is odd, but why is that so significant to the case? Why did the police settle so quickly on the three teens?And in terms of drama, what is Colin Firth doing when he's investigating and why does he eventually decide they're innocent? And if the three teens didn't do it then who did? It's probably irresponsible to outright point fingers at people untried in a court of law, but the film could have done a much better job at portraying alternate suspects. The Byers dad (often cited as the most likely murderer) barely even features, although they duly note his suspicious behavior in the end roll. The film Zodiac is a perfect example of the use of this form of non-narrative narrative, and it is very precise about the facts it includes and the angle it pursues. This film isn't and thus the inherently unsatisfying conclusion feels less tragic and unsettling than meaningless.

All I can say is the man who played Paul Ford NAILED him.