West of Memphis... aka Arkansas

*Spoiler alert*

I was in one of those moods, my brain was overcome with the desire to be enraged, horrified and then overloaded with facts that, even though I had no prior knowledge of the case/ conspiracy/ law etc etc, would lead me to make a definite decision that I would share with anyone who would listen. You are now the person who is listening and this week's documentary, West of Memphis.

So I should probably clear my prior statement up a bit first - No, I do not believe every documentary I see... I've seen films about the holocaust and films made by holocaust denialists so if I did indeed believe every documentary I saw I would be, simultaneously, a holocaust-denier and a holocaust-believer. Fortunately I do not, because that  sort of paradox would leave you crazy. I do, however, find some documentaries so hell-bent on forcing an opinion upon the viewer and so little time presenting their facts that you, as a viewer, just kind of get lost in a surreal world of marginal fact and bias fairy-tales... sort of like The Sun, or Piers Morgan. Whichever makes you less nauseous I guess.

I have been wanting to see West of Memphis for a while, I never saw the Paradise Lost saga but I read the Milton book so I think I have that pretty much covered. West of Memphis, for those of you who haven't heard of Johnny Depp or Eddie Vedder, is the harrowing case of the West Memphis Three (not to be confused with the West Memphis Free, which they later became known as - it saved a lot of PR work, re-branding etc...) who at the ages of 16, 17 & 18 were convicted of the murder of three 8 year old boys in Arkansas. The case against them... being a Goth, Hillbilly and "Just plain stupid" - outsiders, "AHHHH SCARY". There's no evidence, no motive, no nothing... except Forrest Gump rats on them because he a) is manipulated by the Police or b) forgot that it was supposed to be a secret and accidentally told everyone (ahhh shit - it happens!)

So Johnny Depp and Eddie Vedder and that Nazi guy from Sons of Anarchy decide to put on a concert to promote the case and raise money to get those three young roustabouts out of prison. I trivialise their efforts even though they literally saved three people's lives - kudos! However Henry Rollins' frequent reference to his own similarities to the West Memphis Three left me confused and concerned that he was actually just confessing that he was one of the West Memphis Three but had maybe got a double to stand in for him, you know so he could carry on with his movie career and stuff... sort of like when they changed the actress who played Mrs Banks from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air? Like we weren't going to notice that!

Stop! Back to the film....

Although the film does speculate significantly, and I did find myself walking away from it determined that I knew who the killer was, it was still a excellent compilation of fact, celebrity, dramatic sound scoring and powerful portrait shots. Joking aside, it was an extremely powerful film, one that left me feeling genuinely concerned about the judicial system not just in the US but all over the world... no one is safe from the LAW! 

An additional plus for this film is that it ends on a sort-of happy note which, compared to most documentaries I find myself watching, is a pleasant rarity. 

It has been 15 years, and I can still smell the fresh popcorn!

So as the April 14^th 2012 rapidly approaches, we mark the eve of the centurial of Titanic’s ill-fated voyage with the re-release of Titanic, in 3D. 15 years since the film’s original release, it is back and with a publicity campaign that makes the Olympics look like a children’s birthday party!

There is little point in reviewing this film on its original merits, and to do so would be tiresome. Most of us have seen the original 2D film, whether it was on the big screen or at home on your laptop, so to discuss at length, the films incredible visual effects and acting merits would be outdated and pointless.

Before I leap into the controversy around 3D-ing this film, and indeed the benefit of 3D to the narrative, there is one particular foundational element of the film which still managed to blow me away – the score! With the exception of the feature track, Celine Dion’s “My heart will go on”, which after 15 years still shows little sign of “evaporating into the midst”. Damn those unimaginative couples who lack creativity when choosing their “first dance” song at their weddings! And damn those unimaginative widows who lack creativity when burying a loved one! However, dispersing that single negative attribute, the remainder of the soundtrack still mesmerised me - after all this time. I never studied musical scores in cinema or music itself, but I am sure there is an appropriate word for that type of film score. One which manages to pull the most disinterested viewer into the centre of the action. Scores the likes of Star Wars, Schindler’s List, Indiana Jones and, dare I say it, even Pirates of the Caribbean! I will just call it epic film scoring or EFS for short?

However, regardless of the films EFS, it has seemingly become the victim of time and looks a little out dated. Now don’t mistake what I am saying here, for the era this film was leaps and bounds ahead of what a lot of other films were doing but in comparison to today’s 3D epics the effects where clearly not as good. Films no longer require the imagination and creativity they did in the 1970’s when there was little in the way of computer graphics. Now we have, at our disposal, visual effects software that would allow a 12 year old boy to fool the world and create the “first ever footage of the loch ness monster”, while sat at his desk eating a fish finger sandwich. 3D is, although a little gimmicky, the next step in cinema aesthetics, and so to use it on a film with dated visuals seems odd. There was one particular occurrence, in which a stray wire was 3D-ed and left protruding from the screen, which although frustrating, made me think “wow” this is just as annoying as scouring through my broom cupboard at home - as I waved my hands in front of my face, trying to remove it from my peripheral.  However, there were aspects of the film which benefited from the 3D graphics, such as Titanic’s flounder, the evil iceberg and, as Liz Davis eagerly pointed out, “Kate Winslet’s breasts in 3D – winner!” Though, these are all aspects of this film that benefit from viewing in a cinema, 3D or 2D.

I went to see this film for the pure nostalgia. To remember how I felt when I was 10, sat in the Cineworld in Shrewsbury with my mum and sister, in total awe of the film’s grandeur and its visually moving portrayal of the tragic events that unfolded that night in 1912. A film that ultimately started my obscure love affair with the Titanic and its occupants. 

Please note, it is still 3 ¼ hours long, so cheaping out on cinema seating would be ill-advised.