Spoilers herein.
There are lots of self-referential or reflexive films. That's where the act of making the film is acknowledged in the film itself. A common model is the where a photographer acts as detective and something discovered in HIS film reflects onto OUR film. `Blowup' is the classic example with `Femme Fatale' a more recent twist. Scheider probably understands this. Director Frank Pierce surely does. This is the guy that gave us one of the best reflexive projects: `Dog Day Afternoon,' as well as `Cool Hand Luke' and `Cat Ballou.' No dummy this guy, and though this is an incredibly stupid story - as all TeeVee projects must be - there's some cool reflection here.
The story resembles `True Crime' and `The Player,' both similarly reflexive, more than `Dead Man Walking' or `Dancer in the Dark.' The execution isn't the point, only an excuse for the photographer to have his lens make the story. His Pulitzer was won, we are told, by a similar event. Along the way, we get some not bad shine on well-worn stereotypes: the floozy wife, the two-faced cop, the conniving DA, the small-town police clerk, the pushy reporter. The one minor twist is that this inmate thinks he was guilty and is not saved.
Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 4: Has some interesting elements.
There are lots of self-referential or reflexive films. That's where the act of making the film is acknowledged in the film itself. A common model is the where a photographer acts as detective and something discovered in HIS film reflects onto OUR film. `Blowup' is the classic example with `Femme Fatale' a more recent twist. Scheider probably understands this. Director Frank Pierce surely does. This is the guy that gave us one of the best reflexive projects: `Dog Day Afternoon,' as well as `Cool Hand Luke' and `Cat Ballou.' No dummy this guy, and though this is an incredibly stupid story - as all TeeVee projects must be - there's some cool reflection here.
The story resembles `True Crime' and `The Player,' both similarly reflexive, more than `Dead Man Walking' or `Dancer in the Dark.' The execution isn't the point, only an excuse for the photographer to have his lens make the story. His Pulitzer was won, we are told, by a similar event. Along the way, we get some not bad shine on well-worn stereotypes: the floozy wife, the two-faced cop, the conniving DA, the small-town police clerk, the pushy reporter. The one minor twist is that this inmate thinks he was guilty and is not saved.
Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 4: Has some interesting elements.