Into The Abyss is Werner Herzog's look at Texas' Death Row prison system, including Michael Perry, imprisoned and put to death for his alleged involvement in a mass-murder case.
The documentary follows Herzog as he attempts a Louis Theroux approach to questioning inmates about serious cases and genuinely life-ending acts they've committed (but they deny), all the time asking himself and professionals involved in the Death Row whether putting inmates to death for murder is indeed a worthy cause, or whether it's an entirely hypocritical act which goes against the philosophy and ethos of the entire criminal system.
However, whilst Into The Abyss seemed to be released to praise and positive reception, it never goes beyond the bounds of simply being 'interesting' and never quite challenges the Louis Theroux school of documentary filmmaking, a technique which involves subtle manipulation through the process of feigning ignorance and naivety towards the subject at hand. Instead, Herzog presents a rather condescending tone towards the inmates featured, and doesn't ever seem particularly interested in anything he talks about. Whether that's simply the language barrier and chosen tone of voice which affects this technique, but it never really works too well.
6/10
2 comments:
This sounds like a documentary that i would find very interesting. What is your opinion of the death penalty? Do you think this film challenges your own opinion of capital punishment?
My opinion on the Death Penalty changes every week, normally depending on how it's addressed by the Question Time panel (it's a question that's frequently asked of the panel, and I hear so many different arguments, I often question my original mindset).
I believe torture and the death penalty are both valid punishments within the right context. Of course, there have been cases where people have been put to death on Death Row, and subsequently found innocent. That, in my eyes, is not only fundamentally tragic, a horrendous indictment of the validity of the criminal justice system in general, but also pathetic because it means the actual criminal would probably still be on the run.
I believe the Death Penalty should exist, regardless of what the film wants me to believe, however until the criminal prosecution can be 100% accurate (ie, never), it won't ever be a justifiably defensible course of action.
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