REVIEWS
REAL TO REEL
US. 2011. 106mins Director Werner Herzog Production companies Creative Differences, Skellig Rock, Spring Hill, Werner Herzog Film, Discovery ID, More4 International sales ZDF Enterprises, info@zdf-
enterprises.de Producer Erik Nelson Executive producers Dave Harding, Amy Briamonte, Henry Schleiff, Sara Kozak, Andre Singer, Lucki Stipetic Cinematography Peter Zeitlinger Editor Joe Bini Music Mark Degli Antoni Main cast Michael Perry, Jason Burkett, Lisa Stotler- Balloun, Fred Allen, Delbert Burkett
Into The Abyss REVIEWED BY ALLAN HUNTER
The capital punishment debate excites heated pas- sion on both sides of the argument. Into The Abyss by contrast is distinguished by a sense of meas- ured, level-headed compassion as director Werner Herzog explores the human cost of crime and its consequences. The result is a poignant, lyrical documentary that ranks among the director’s fin- est and leaves the viewer with plenty to reflect on and digest. A traditional talking-heads approach might
ordinarily have limited the film to a non-theatrical future but the subject matter and Herzog’s assured handling should ensure theatrical viability in all the territories that have welcomed his recent run of documentary work from Grizzly Man to Cave Of Forgotten Dreams. Herzog’s own position in the capital punish-
ment debate is clear. He believes it is wrong to take a human life. It is not an agenda he forces on the viewer. Instead, he lets the issues find a voice in the stories of a wide range of individuals touched by a triple homicide in Conroe, Texas in 2000 that led to the convictions of teenagers Michael Perry and Jason Burkett. Herzog approaches the case with a forensic
thoroughness that suggests a cinematic equivalent of Truman Capote’s masterwork In Cold Blood. His interest is much less in the grisly details of what happened and more in the legacy it left for the families of the victims, the convicted killers them- selves and their loved ones. Baby-faced Perry is on Death Row and just eight days away from his execution date of July 1,
n 18 Screen International at the Toronto Film Festival September 10, 2011
2010 when Herzog interviews him. He tells Perry he may not necessarily like him but he will respect his humanity. It could be the guiding philosophy of the film. Everyone interviewed is treated with dignity.
Herzog is scrupulously honest with his subjects and never less than well mannered in his gentle, insistent probing. He neither judges nor ridicules but allows them the luxury of being heard in their own words and their own time. The film still has a taste of the idiosyncratic fla-
vour one might expect from Herzog (there is even a mention of alligators) but more often than not he concentrates purely on the facts and the stark emotions. After a prologue, the film unfolds in chapter
headings (The Crime, The Dark Side Of Conroe etc). Police lieutenant Damon Hall recalls the
details of the investigation as crime-scene video footage provides evidence of bloody murder in which a woman was killed ostensibly over the theft of a red Chevrolet Camaro car. Such cases are the backbone of weekly television drama but have a much more chilling impact when we know real people were involved. Herzog interviews the first victim’s daughter Lisa
Stotler-Balloun, a woman who carries her grief like a boulder. A young man recalls the brother he lost. Herzog also meets Perry’s conspirator-in-crime Jason Burkett and the father Delbert Burkett whose emotional plea for clemency may have been all that saved him from Death Row. Burkett is currently serving a life sentence that
should see him eligible for parole in 2041 when he will be 59 years old. The more we learn about Perry and Burkett, the more we are encouraged to accept they never had a fighting chance at a decent life. Sympathy is generously extended without ever
developing into a means of excusing their actions. The film has no doubts about their guilt or that their acts were cruel and wanton. Herzog con- stantly balances the argument; Lisa’s sense of release after Perry’s execution leaves her believing some people do not deserve the gift of life. Captain Fred Allen oversaw more than 100 executions before the blinding realisation that what he did was morally indefensible. His spellbinding mem- ory of what changed his mind offers a powerful rebuttal of Lisa’s view. Herzog draws no clear-cut conclusions. He
presents his evidence and challenges the viewers to form their own opinion. That is the power and the profundity of his film.
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