Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
This unique documentary dramatically re-enacts the crime scene and investigation of a police officer's murder in Dallas.
Errol Morris's landmark documentary revolutionized non-fiction filmmaking with its dramatic reenactments, Philip Glass score, and methodical deconstruction of a wrongful conviction. The investigative structure is gripping and the cinematography of those hypnotic reenactments is genuinely distinctive. Acting is inapplicable in the traditional sense — the real subjects are compelling but uneven, and the dramatic recreations feature anonymous performers. The ending, while satisfying in its recorded confession, feels somewhat abrupt rather than cathartic. Novelty is exceptionally high: this film essentially invented a new documentary language that countless films have since imitated.