Overrated

I really don't get the hype.

A Brilliant Conflict

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Louis Theroux has always shared the stories others overlook, whether for lack of interest ("if it bleeds, it leads" mentality rules info-tainment. "news" industry), or lack of imagination.this title is no different. Mr. Theroux takes his honest face, his British accent, and a brave crew into some of the most dangerous rooms in the US jail system. he speaks earnestly, and openly with the men and women who are housed or work in the Miami jail system.some of the men and boys he speaks with will break your heart, if you have an ounce of empathy in you; as a psychologist, my heart breaks for every one. not one story surprised me, but then again, i have studied human behaviour for decades.if one is truly curious about the jail/prison culture, and how even well-educated, "well-bred," average American university students change into brutal animals in a matter of days, one really must seek the "Stanford Prison Experiment," designed and executed by Philip Zimbardo, Ph.D.. one can locate streamable editions of his film, as well as a documentary about the experiment.between his work, and the work of Stanley Milgram, an entirely new internal review system was created and implemented universally at all universities: a prospective researcher (or team of researchers) must present to a faculty board on ethics in experimentation their entire plan, from start to finish. not only their objectives and methodology, but a carefully reasoned and documented prediction of possible lingering effects upon the subjects (if animals) and/or participants (if human).Louis never mentions the Stanford experiment...i wonder why, and Tweeted him the question (i just did so moments ago, no answer yet; not waiting on one...) certainly he read about it, or has seen a film about it. oh well, no way to know unless he answers.WAATCH THIS! i only wish it was longer.

This is listed on IMDb as one 120 minute episode but Netflix has it broken in half. I have no idea in what form it originally aired. Regardless, I think having the show THIS long was a mistake, as I found my attention wavering. Additionally, trimming it a bit would have made the impact greater--and people SHOULD see what it's like in these hellish jails.In this episode/episodes, Louis Theroux visits a horrible jail in Miami where prisoners await their trials. Oddly, many use their lawyers to try to delay the trials for many years--a way of trying to get a lighter sentence or acquittal because of the delay. I was surprised how open many of these prisoners were and how dehumanized they behaved. Fights and much more seem to happen with abandon in this "Lord of the Flies" sort of atmosphere.Additionally, a bootcamp diversion program is investigated in order to try to prevent these young men from becoming the hardened criminals Louis interviewed in the jail. These segments could have simply made up an episode of their own and the inclusion of BOTH seemed a bit too much. Still, the show is eye-opening and interesting, but I think Louis could have gotten much more from his interviews by asking much more open-ended questions in order to get the prisoners to tell their own stories in their own words.

Once again Louis gives us an interesting and fascinating insight a world that many of us will probably never see (and probably don't want to experience first hand!).I'd love to be part of the debrief sessions Louis and the crews must have had during and after this series. The conversations and experiences at times must have chilled them to the bone and left them almost shaking.To enter into this world and engage with some of these guys takes a lot of guts. Unlike many documentaries, Louis actually enters their space- he gets into the cells, he befriends (for want of a better word) them and engages them in conversation.Their responses were just as fascinating. To hear why they did what they did or not even think for a second that what they did was wrong, was just mind blowing. Gangs and drugs have a lot to answer for. One of the better insights into this world....

Louis Theroux isn't everyone's cup of tea and I'll be honest and say that at times he isn't mine. He has his goals for his films and sometimes he can appear to be trying to manoeuvre his subjects or traps them somehow in order to get what he needs rather than just letting them be themselves and see what happens – not often perhaps, but sometimes. There is none of that in this two-part film though and instead there are lots of really articulate and engaging subjects who discuss honestly their situation. The film focuses on a massive jail in Miami and, in America, the difference between a jail and a prison is not just a choice of words but a matter of state – jail being the place those awaiting trial are sent. In other words everyone in this film is innocent in the eyes of the law – a fact that is stated at the start of both parts of this film in case we forget (as it would be easy to do).Within the film Louis interviews those in the cells, focusing on several characters that he either checks back with or finds in other parts of the system at a later date; he also checks out a "boot camp" initiative for those in the jail and also talks to guards working in the system. The results are varying but nearly always fascinating – some inform him of the code of the cells, of how the constant fights work etc; some talk to him about their experiences and for many of them the open chatting gets them to consider things and say things that they certainly would not voice to guards or peers. It is hard to watch the film because you feel like a bleeding heart liberal – but I think I think I felt this way because the sheer reality of the situation makes it hard to do anything other than feel despair for a system that is broken from the street level to the legal level.It all does an excellent job of presenting a system built on reinforcing violence in which nobody can really change it; certainly the guards seem powerless to enforce anything and are left just to tidy up the pieces and keep things moving the best they can. The picture of this "training" is well conflicted with the boot camp; Louis is careful not to praise this approach and indeed the limitations of it are evident, but given a choice between the two methods of "training" it is clear which is preferable. While some viewers will roll their eyes to see heavily tattoo street level drug dealers discussing the way they were brought up, it is well framed within the bigger picture of being "trained" to be a certain way. Some are reflective on it, others are matter-of-fact about it and some appear to be letting their own words sink into their heads at times. What combines almost everyone though is a real ability to be articulate, to be thoughtful and to be engaging – for absolutely sure I had little doubt that many of those talking had more than committed the crimes they were accused of, but that didn't make the film easier to accept as a system.Overall this is a film that is as engaging as it is brutally honest. It doesn't point fingers but through chats and interviews it allows the viewer to draw the inevitable conclusion that many things in the specific and the bigger picture are very, very broken. This film shows us how those accused of being criminals are treated or allowed to be treated and it makes for a really engaging and well-made documentary.