After three successful documentaries on the subject, you wouldn’t think the West Memphis Three needed the “based on a true story” treatment, but Hollywood just adores telling you a story you’ve already heard. In Devil’s Knot, which sounds like it’s about an anus, director Atom Egoyan (Chloe) gets famous actors like Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth to do their most dramatic impressions of characters we already know pretty well. Complete with Kevin Durand as John Mark Byers, cementing his status as Hollywood’s go-to actor for anything that requires a menacing redneck. And the trailer begins with a child singing ominously through a wall of portentous reverb, so you know it’s going to be a very balanced portrayal.
“You’ve heard the news reports. You’ve seen the documentaries. Now see what a murdered child’s mother’s dream sequences might look like, starring Reese Witherspoon.”
Opens May 9th.