Argumentative August Supplement #1 – Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1995) – MovieRob

Ryan and I would like to once again welcome you to another review for our Argumentative August Blogathon.

 

This next film, Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1995) is being reviewed by me

 

Let’s see what I thought of this movie….

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 “Are you kidding me with those glasses? You look like a child molester. Get rid off them or it’s gonna be a short trial. ” – Danny Davis

Number of Times Seen – 2 (Cable in the 90’s and 19 Aug 2015)

Brief Synopsis – Based on one of the most sensational trials in US history where a family of child caregivers were accused of heinous acts and their trail was dragged on for more than 7 years.  The question remained tho; were they innocent or guilty.

My Take on it – When Ryan and I chose to do this blogathon, we decided to each pick one additional courtroom drama that we believe should be listed among the 50 best Courtroom dramas.

For me, the choice was easy.

I saw this movie in the mid-90’s when it came out on cable and the story still stayed fresh in my mind 20 years later.

Apparently, this was so powerful and left such an impression that it was able to be singled out among the vast amounts of movie information floating around in my brain.

This movie shows how even back in the early 80’s, the media was able to help sensationalize crimes to a point where it was possible to paint seemingly innocent people as being hardened criminals tasking them with having to prove their innocence instead of the State having to prove their guilt.

The entire movie is gripping because despite being quite sure of their innocence, we are injected every so often with doubt until the real truth is revealed at the end.

I also like the way this movie raises the issue of testimony of children in court and how they can so easily be manipulated either way showing how unreliable their testimony really can be

Excellent cast led by the superb James Woods that also includes Shirley Knight, Henry Thomas, Lolita Davidovich and Mercedes Ruehl.

This movie deservingly won both the Emmy and Golden Globe for Best TV movie because it truly is done amazingly.

Bottom Line – Excellent portrayal of how the media is able to sensationalize crimes to a point where guilt is no loner needed to be proven but rather innocence.  Very gripping courtroom movie that makes you feel almost sure of their innocence, but never 100%.  Woods is superb as Davis. Very deservingly won both the Emmy and Golden Globe for best TV movie. Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The film is cited as a watershed in the shift of ideas about satanic ritual abuse in the United States, recasting Ray Buckey as a victim of a hysterical conspiracy rather than a child abuser (From Wikipedia)

Rating – Oscar Worthy

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