West of Memphis
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: December 25, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
80
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
24
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertJan 16, 2013
Do we need a fourth film? Yes, I think we do. If you only see one of them, this is the one to choose, because it has the benefit of hindsight. Read full review
100
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlDec 18, 2012
That makes this the most rare of films: one that indisputably matters. And one that stuns. Read full review
100
EmpireDavid HughesDec 10, 2012
Prepare to be shocked, disturbed, awed... and, if you expected justice to prevail at last, ultimately devastated. Read full review
91
Portland OregonianMarc MohanMar 7, 2013
West of Memphis does nothing to displace its predecessor films as masterpieces of investigative filmmaking, but complements them as a riveting capstone to an epic and tragic tale. Read full review
91
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallFeb 27, 2013
Thanks to Jackson's involvement as a producer, Berg has time and access Berlinger and Sinofsky didn't, allowing expansion of whatever material that's repeated. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanJan 9, 2013
The film casts a hypnotic spell all its own. It artfully sketches out the events for anyone who's coming in cold, but basically, its strategy is to take what we already know and go deeper. Read full review
90
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJan 24, 2013
As with "The Central Park Five," you come away from the film impressed by the storytelling but enraged by the facts. It's outrageous that this kind of thing happens, but Berg does an outstanding job of showing us how it does. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJan 3, 2013
Ms. Berg's film, which she wrote with Billy McMillin, tells the story with unprecedented clarity. She has a dramatist's eye for what was irretrievably lost-the innocent lives of the children, plus 18 years of three other innocent lives. Read full review
90
VarietyJohn AndersonNov 25, 2012
Amy Berg's clear, captivating, indignant film carves out its own significant place in criminal-justice cinema, makes new and startling revelations into the triple-murder mystery, and is visually spectacular to boot. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy BurrMar 14, 2013
While the “Paradise Lost” films captured events as they unfolded in the heat of battle, West of Memphis has the luxury of at least partial closure. Read full review
88
New York PostSara StewartDec 20, 2012
This is a compelling and comprehensive guide to one of the most Kafkaesque crime stories in American history. Read full review
85
NPRMark JenkinsDec 27, 2012
Although it's the fourth documentary about the West Memphis Three, West of Memphis doesn't feel superfluous. This bizarre case rates at least 18 documentaries - one for each year Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley spent in prison for murders they clearly didn't commit. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawDec 21, 2012
A gripping documentary. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeNov 25, 2012
Thorny, blood-boiling and finely made. Read full review
80
Total FilmPhilip KempNov 25, 2012
A superbly detailed account of a notorious miscarriage of justice and how it was gradually unravelled. It's a tad overlong, but the passion, skill and revelations on display will captivate you. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezFeb 21, 2013
The movie leaves you feeling angry and frustrated anyway. And justice for all? Hardly. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoFeb 9, 2013
A long documentary that's very hard to watch - at times, it's harrowing. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyJan 31, 2013
In a well-paced two and a half hours, Berg's film is an ambitious mixture of summary and fresh investigation. Read full review
75
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreJan 30, 2013
It's a fine summation of this complicated story, one that focuses heavily on Echols and his sweeping declarations about the state of justice in Arkansas and America. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadayJan 24, 2013
West of Memphis makes a lucid, absorbing contribution to an epic saga that Berlinger and Sinofsky first wrestled into an 18-year-long narrative that changed two lives and saved one. And it gives that epic an ending that's happy, sad, inspiring, infuriating, right and terribly wrong, all at the same time. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJan 17, 2013
A strong, blood-boiling documentary from director Amy Berg, who made the similarly fine "Deliver Us From Evil". Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayDec 26, 2012
On its own merits, though, West Of Memphis is a well-assembled, well-argued documentary that shows how America's advocacy model of trial law can lead to government representatives spinning stories they know are probably untrue, then using their authority to stand strong against any alternate theory, no matter how many millions of people believe it. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineTomas HachardDec 19, 2012
By taking a disturbing and sometimes conflicted look at the prejudices that led to the West Memphis Three's imprisonment, it asks murky questions about how people could get something so wrong for so long. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen HoldenDec 26, 2012
The film is inspiring because it has a semi-happy ending attached to a love story. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottMar 8, 2013
As it is, it's little more than an artful rehash -- which means that anyone who wants closure to the story, or to see justice truly served, will have to wait a little longer. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierDec 26, 2012
Certainly, the West Memphis 3 deserve more chances to detail how the justice system went nightmarishly awry. But take this as ultimately more personal journal than investigation. Read full review
40
Time OutSam AdamsDec 18, 2012
Berlinger and Sinofksy merely suggested Hobbs might be responsible for the crime; Berg goes in for the kill, inconclusive evidence and docu-ethics be damned. The queasy certainty with which the filmmaker jumps to her conclusions, however, is all too reminiscent of the original prosecutors' zeal. It's hard to imagine how someone could study this case for so long and yet miss its most critical lesson. Read full review
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