O.J.: Made in America (2016)

Truly Dreadful Film

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

A Major Disappointment

For over a year, OJ was all America talked about. Every tiny detail or gossip was a headline. I had no interest in reliving it all by watching this movie. Then, credible sources were saying this miniseries was really quite good. It is!I had forgotten so many of the crazy and insane twists and turns of this trial. Learning more about the motivations, interactions and histories of the people involved was an eye opener. Even the jurors point of view is well done. Everyone who was in that courtroom - except OJ - desperately wanted to be there. It wasn't long before they all regretted it.

On June 12th, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson, the ex-wife of lauded American football player and all-round superstar O.J. Simpson, was murdered, along with her friend Ron Goldman. Both were stabbed multiple times, with Nicole's injuries so severe that her head was almost completely severed from her body. The crime scene was appalling and was clearly the aftermath of a frenzied attack, with all evidence pointing to O.J.. What followed was truly the biggest media sensation of our time; a circus in the ugliest sense of the word which divided America between blacks and whites. The case continues to fascinate, and despite the many documentaries covering the trial, Ezra Edelman's O.J.: Made in America finds new ground to cover, interviewing practically anyone caught up in the trial and juxtaposing O.J.'s story with that of the horror of growing up black in Los Angeles.Released as a five-part mini-series on ESPN for their 30 to 30 series, Made in America also made a limited appearance on cinema screen, and received its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. Controversially, this qualified it as a feature and for the Best Documentary Academy Award (which it won), and watched as a whole the film runs at a whopping 7 hours plus. But anyone who states it was undeserved needs to watch the film again, as this is about as detailed, powerful and utterly gripping as documentary film-making gets. It seems to cover just about every angle, bringing in anybody who was anybody in the events leading up to the murder and the aftermath for revealing interviews, as well as boasting a stunning collection of archive footage. It's meticulously researched stuff, and even if you know the long-studied case back to front, you will still find something new. Starting way back, we are taken through O.J.'s rise as a star college football player, leaping over or barging through anybody who stood in his way. He was worshipped almost like a God, and took this success to an unhappy period as a professional playing in Buffalo, where he was away from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. We move through his tearful retirement to his move into acting, where he appeared in the likes of Capricorn One (1977) and The Naked Gun (1988), and his successful run as the face of Hertz. There's also his initially sweeping love affair with a beautiful young blonde named Nicole Brown, before the reports of domestic violence began. We witness a black man becoming a superstar in a white world that falsely preached equality, and he sat comfortably in that world while his fellow African- Americans were suffering terrible abuse at the hands of the law. Time and time again we witness a black man, woman or child murdered, beaten or treated like a dog by the police, only for them to be acquitted of the crime. Payback, it would seem, was on the cards, as the trial of O.J. Simpson began.We are left in no question as to whether or not O.J. did it. He comes across as a master manipulator, ready to throw anybody under the bus - and have them be grateful at the same time - if it will give him a foot forward. A controlling, egotistical bully who would leave visible prints of his boot on Nicole's face, he is truly the worst kind of scumbag. The outcome of the trial certainly isn't excused (the prosecutor reminds the court late on that nobody seems to remember than Nicole and Ron were the actual victims), but it goes some way to explain it. You can feel the anger brewing as the film goes on, and through some truly disturbing footage of the Rodney King beating and the murder of Latasha Harlin, makes you angry with them. It portrays an entire country divided, with the trial playing out as an obvious metaphor for a nation in complete disarray, while the disgusting flaws in the American Justice System are exposed to a bleary-eyed prosecution. It's a work of true scholarship and unyielding ambition, and a frightening indictment of just how little has changed.

If you think this will only be about the death of two white people by the hands of rich and successful black man, you will be in for a rude surprise. You are taken on a epic voyage back in time, through the great black southern migration, to the civil rights movement, how people view these epic times. How a person can come from an isolated community and be propelled into a new environment they have no prior exposure. While the documentary gives you deep exposure to the O.J. Simpson case, some people will say that this documentary will convince you that he committed the horrid murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman - I still have two questions - how did a person kill two people this violently and only have traces of blood on them and no bloody clothes; how in the hell was he able to pull this off within 45 minutes and catch a plane? I have more questions than ever. But, the best thing to do before you watch this documentary. Sit down, relax, open you eyes, let your curiosity take hold and go where the filmmakers take you.

Well is it the final chapter? I seriously doubt it. We all must have seen numerous documentaries about OJ and what happened or didn't happen and we all have our own version of what we think happened. Some older people (like me) may remember watching this as it happened and some may have caught up after the fact but it's still a fascinating watch.This is as comprehensive as it gets, and at seven and a half hours does cover it very comprehensively. I did it in three instalments and never got bored on any occasion. It was factual, with actual footage of the trail, and is updated with commentary provided by many who were involved.I'm not gonna take sides and slam or praise anyone but be assured, you will. No matter how you think things went down you will have a good guy and bad guy scenario and like me you will become a little louder than normal.Well worth a watch even though it takes a while.