Great Film overall

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Such a treat to see Colin Firth in this role; the last movie I watched that featured Firth in the legal profession was "The Advocate," which is an interesting film, and I couldn't help but think of his role (as attorney) in that film while watching this one. This movie is like a really satisfying episode of the x-files, but real-life; not sci-fi.

Paradise Lost documented the story of three child murders in West Memphis, Arkansas. The Devils Knot goes on to dramatise and become the 'Hollywood' version and sadly falls flat. The case was so complex and difficult to take in that a running time of under 2 hours both fails to make you empathise with any character or help you to make up your mind as what you think the truth is. I really feel this was an opportunity missed as it is probably one of the most intriguing and complex cases ever with its possible injustice, combined with very credible other suspects that a lay person could easily connect with the murders. Overall it just fails to deliver on most fronts and will do nothing for viewers who are new to the case and adds very little to those who know it well. I feel it may well be picked up again by someone else in the future but requires a lot more attention and running time to really get it right.

Okay, so I'll admit that I'm writing this review as a parent of a small child. That way, you may understand that watching a film about a child who's kidnapped and murdered is always going to affect me more. Plus this actually happened. 'The Devil's Knot' is based on a real incident in American in 1993 when three boys were found murdered in a small town and three teenage boys were subsequently arrested.By all accounts the film is actually quite close to the truth, or at least, what is perceived as the truth. Obviously there is some ambiguity as to the accused's guilt, that way there is some proper interest in the story. Colin Firth plays the investigator who doubts the 'open and shut' of the case and starts looking a little deeper into what transpired, rather than just following the inevitable thirst for *any* blood from the local townsfolk. The first thing that struck me was that he did an American accent well. I'm not aware of any other film where he's put on a U.S. accent and he did it pretty well.Reece Witherspoon is one of the grieving mothers and plays a naturally sympathetic role well, drawing on her ability to pull off a decent southern American accent.As the 'killers' are quickly apprehended, much of the film is centred around the following trial and courtroom battle.Basically, the film is an extended courtroom drama, so, if you're into those, you should enjoy it. Personally, I could have done without seeing the moment when the youngsters are 'found' – it's quite upsetting, based on how real it looks. But then that's just me speaking as possible an overprotective parent.All in all, a good film – difficult subject matter and handled well in a balanced way. I'm not sure I'd want to watch it again, but I don't feel like I've wasted the two hours I invested in it.

As other reviewers have already stated the documentaries are wonderfully done. They followed the complete history of this bizarre case and are well worth a watch. Besides the first three, Peter Jackson has also done one quite recently.Atom Egoyan films are always interesting - until now. I felt I was watching a made for TV film (before the days of our premium cable shows). This had an outstanding cast. In an effort for realism all of the big stars looked like us normal frumpy people with bad hairstyles - except for Colin Firth - he stands out like a (gorgeous) sore thumb. Couldn't understand why he was allowed to look like a movie star and for me it did effect the "everyday man, retro period" look I felt Mr. Egoyan was going for. The cast is all excellent but the editing, action and dialogue doesn't give them much to do.As previous reviewers pointed out, one problem lies in condensing this complex troubling story into a couple hours. Usually a short textual summary at end of film gives you info on what happens to main characters after film ends. This summary covers decades and doesn't do justice to the bulk of what happened. The story is so hard hitting because it took decades to resolve. Perhaps the director wanted to focus on the piece he did but it almost felt like - OK, here we are two hours - let's wrap it up and write up the rest. He is such a strong filmmaker that I am sure I missed the point of why he did this film the way he did of such a well documented case.And, finally the larger problem is simply that - this film is sluggish. It isn't just really really slow pacing. It drags. It trips. It feels like it really wants to lay down for a nap. Perhaps those who don't know the story were fascinated but for me the whole movie is dull, which is astonishing given its subject matter. For instance, so many times the camera pans to Reese Witherspoon and just hangs there on the same sad look she wears each time this happens. Or, she and Colin Firth exchange long meaningful glances over and over until far into the film. Little action, little interesting dialogue, not much cohesive dialogue at all. I felt all these terrific actors were given nothing to do. Even Colin Firth has a surprisingly small passive part in the film given his character's relevance to the story.Just cannot recommend this. Definitely see the documentaries instead and then re-watch The Sweet Hereafter!