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Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1995)
One of the best TV movies!
Caught this on TV about 15 years ago and managed to watch it again recently and it still hits me as hard as it did the first time.
The trials and tribulations we see the accused family go through are so painful and the stigma and paranoia surrounding them after the accusations arise.
The movie itself did an incredible job piecing together a tragic story that somehow provided light at the end of the tunnel.
James Woods is fantastic in his role as the defender for the accused. His character's initial motivation and the evolution it takes as the story progresses was very warm to see considering how the family seemed to only have each other in what was a witch hunt fed by paranoia.
It's a film that is relevant today in an age where adults have to think twice before smiling at a child in public. This film does justice to depicting some deep issues rounded out by solid performances from Henry Thomas, Shirley Knight and Sada Thompson (and of course James Woods).
PREMature (2015)
Documentary about life under a magnifying glass
I class this series more as a documentary although conventionally it is a drama. The reason I do this is due in part to the truthfulness in illustrating on screen some incredibly authentic character arcs and performances. Life isn't neat and as much as we like to imagine we're in control of it, the hard fact is that we are never really in control of life apart from the decisions we make from the choices provided at that present time. This is something I noticed throughout PREMature, many decisions were made at particular and significant times that re-defined the direction of characters and their journeys. One of these examples that stood out was the subplot involving Will and the female student Jemma regarding the leak of the video clip. This part of the story began earlier in the show and re-emerged in the finale. It was actually something I had forgotten about and when I was reminded in the scene between Prem and Will where the latter admitted to his guilt in the leak of the clip, it hit me hard that these characters were always carrying burdens that were often unseen and would become visible in times of extreme hardship.
At times I found some of the accents a little distracting particularly Nina's boyfriend (whose character was actually really refreshing) but I can understand that if I was observing something that was aiming to depict a more concerted view of life in a dramatised portrait, then it perhaps was more about me needing time to adapt to the variations in accents. Being based in the North I'm still aware that London is a metropolis with perhaps the most diverse culture in its population and PREMature was exemplifying this? Or maybe I'm giving more credit to the makers then I should. Who knows.
The music score was a truly great fit. I couldn't place my finger on the type of genre it was due to it being varied in tone and style. Overall it lifted many scenes illuminating emotions and performances.
The depiction of the relationship between Prem and his teacher had me feeling slightly weary in the first half of episode one. However, I was relieved to see that it wasn't going down a tired and familiar route. This relationship (and there were many) was one of my favourites. There was a lot of love and care between them in almost father son capacity. They were learning from each other's trials even if they did not express every detail of their lives to each other verbatim, the understanding and empathy was more intrinsic as if they were soul mates. The true tragedy of this was that in the end, one could not be there for the other and this twist of fate allowed Prem to find solace in Will.
The documentary style of the camera angles and lingering moments on characters' faces provided me with a very intimate viewing experience. I noticed a lot of close frames of the actors almost shutting out the rest of the world so I could be engaged with them. This made for many memorable moments and I interpreted that the doom and gloom I felt the series might end on was lifted with the ending of Prem confiding in Will.
A tough, brutal and often beautiful but rewarding watch is PREMature.
Powerful.