The Thin Blue Line (1988)
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The Thin Blue Line Movie Review
The Thin Blue Line is a 1988 documentary film directed by Errol Morris. It was a revolutionary film in its approach and it remains interesting today too.
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“It takes a great prosecutor to convict an innocent man“
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This film successfully argued that a man was wrongly convicted for murder by a corrupt justice system in Dallas County, Texas. Randall Dale Adams was convicted for killing a police officer, but the evidence for this murder was non-existent and the investigation was poorly conducted. The man just barely escaped the death row and this film was crucial in leading to justice and his exoneration. It shows that documentaries can genuinely save lives.
The movie deals with police corruption and incompetence, but it also depicts just how unreliable testimonies can be and how easily a person can be wrongfully committed due to a string of bad circumstances. The film’s interviews are somewhat repetitive and not all-encompassing, but those interviewees that are showcased were quite insightful and you can get a lot from their speeches and body language.
The Thin Blue Line is renowned for incorporating crime reenactments, which was highly controversial for the time. These scenes were too much for the Academy to handle, leading to the movie being snubbed for that award, which just goes to show how out of touch they always have been when it comes to unique innovations. These reenactments are extremely popular today, which makes this movie groundbreaking for sure.
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So yes, the film was very much ahead of its time, but also nowadays it doesn’t feel as fresh given that there are so many of similar films and shows made today, which is a curse for every film that is revolutionary. There were numerous interviews here that repeated the same point and the movie was, thus, not well paced at all, but the different points of view made for an intricately layered look at this crime. The directing from Errol Morris is excellent, the editing is mostly stellar, and the movie is so well shot. It’s one of those films that are more admirable than truly engaging, but it needs to be respected for being so groundbreaking and authentic for the time.
The Thin Blue Line was a groundbreaking documentary for the time for actually utilizing crime reenactments. It was too innovative for the Academy, so they ended up snubbing it for their award. While nowadays we have numerous crime documentaries that are similar, thus this movie’s impact is somewhat blunted, there is no denying that back then this was a very influential and important movie that was superbly edited, structured and directed. It also saved the life of a man who was wrongfully convicted, which was its biggest accomplishment.
My Rating – 4
This is the third film in my documentary movie marathon where I will cover one film per decade. Next up are the nineties where I chose Hoop Dreams. Keep an eye on that one as well.
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