Trial by Fire by Geoffrey Fletcher - 8.4 out of 10

Trial by Fire by Geoffrey Fletcher 
8.4 out of 10


Trial by Fire is an intriguing, often hard to watch and surely not entertaining motion picture.

It is hard to say if it is played to perfection, or the acting is pathetic and flawed.
Laura Dern is good as Elizabeth Gilbert, but Jack O'Connell as Cameron Todd Willingham and Emily Meade in the role of Stacy Willingham are a different matter.

It is true that both Stacy and her husband are not the prototype of the hero, on the contrary, it is almost impossible to like any of them.
In the politically incorrect old days,  they would have been called white trash, fighting often, if not always, uneducated, aggressive, even when she defends her husband in court, the wife seems a bit of a shrew.

So the question here is, have the actors portrayed these individuals with perfect accuracy, failed humans that they were,  or it is the exaggerated, over the top rendition of the players that we almost hate?
More importantly, this film has merits in that we are provoked to think about Justice!

Admittedly, Cameron is not the heroic, dashing, dazzling, superb main character that we are used and empathize with generally, in the mainstream farewell see in cinemas.
This is exactly the point!

He shouldn't have been killed, just for being a loser, negligent parent.
The investigation had 'astrologists' involved, as it would be brilliantly described by the fire expert that destroys all the case against Willingham.

Those who looked at the case came with the prejudice and the preconceived idea that the father killed the three children, knowing his awful reputation, history of fights and background.
Therefore, they had only wanted to have their image confirmed, with false evidence, such as the refrigerator allegedly moved to trap the kids, but which the intact linoleum proves had always been set against the door, fire trap as this was.

The stupid governor of Texas, who infamously forgot what agency he had declared he wants to eliminate- one of three - refused to budge, even when evidence proved that the man about to be executed had been sentenced based on false, wrong evidence.
He is a member of the other fool's team, what can you expect from acolytes of Trump?

A tragic, competing story, based on facts.