Into the Abyss (2011)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Blistering performances.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Overall, I thought this movie showed an interesting perspective. I think there was too much sympathy given to the criminals, however. My main reason for giving this 5 stars is because it was only dedicated to two of the victims when in fact there were three. Please, someone tell me - is there a reason for this???

Into the Abyss looks at people on Death Row. This time there's not very much of the 'ecstatic truth' that Herzog is often chasing in the wilds or jungles or in remote continents. This is about Michael Perry, facing death for a triple homicide, and others interviewed in the case, some also on death row, some not.There are no exacting 'sides' taken - though Herzog clearly states he's against the death penalty, which is important to note. And yet this is far from a polemic, and is something meant to be for all interested audiences, whether you believe the death penalty is a good idea or not for such cases or others.It's an incisive, disturbing and, by the nature of Herzog's conversational approach (not so much an "Interview" in a strict sense, he also says this) startling and revelatory in the little (and big details, and it's look into this ugly case, which showcases how dumb youth can really spoil a lot of things for people. But, paramountly, how the process of waiting for and about to be executed affects the person about to die, those closest to him, and the victim's families. It's precisely and unforgettably haunting because of how much Herzog looks at people who have looked into the abyss, and whether or not the abyss has looked back at them.

I came to this film from a somewhat unique perspective. A close friend is a lifelong devoted social worker, a champion for the poor and the less fortunate. She is now in her twilight years, no retirement in sight. Too many babies to look after and few competent parents. Her job is special, because she sees newborns in compromised circumstances daily. Dealing with the chaos is just a part of life for these soldiers on the front line. Watching this film, I realized that this isn't just a debate about capital punishment. It's a film about the vicious mechanism we face - with poor, unfit adults aggressively bearing offspring, damned as their ancestors, and destined to bring only misery into the world. We see a father of one of the convicted men, in a truly heartbreaking dialogue, discuss what it was like to celebrate Thanksgiving in shackles with his two sons, also incarcerated. His third son of four, Jason Burkett, faces a life sentence. With his stubborn, resolute jaw and his plight, Jason has attracted a messenger from the outside world, an advocate. She is a childlike romantic, given to unrequited love and notions of noble prisoners unjustly held captive. Deep down, we see flitters of mischief as though she is willing to do anything for Burkett and his cause, even if it means smuggling his seed outside of prison walls and proliferating his genetic instruction. When asked how many children he would like to have, Burkett's eyes widen into fevered starshells, full of biological desire. It only takes a moment to realize this isn't entirely love, but rogue impulses. Desire and passion and a primordial charter from his adrenals to keep replicating. There is a strange, lethal innocence to Michael Perry, like a child in a more sadistic garden of eden. You can tell that only some small part of him grasps the actual consequence of his actions. That he would likely go to his early grave still in denial, a cultural fetus. Even without the confines of prison, his developmental process has long ago stopped.To me, this film makes a stronger case for controlling the population prior to conception than it does against capital punishment.

This film lacks even the Herzogian touches that a flawed film like Cave Of Forgotten Dreams retains, if even poorly. On a side note, a quick Googling of the case shows that many of the claims made by people in the film- apart and aside from the two killers, is simply not true. Now, this may be Herzogian, if he actually knew the truths and allowed lies to be filmed, but, given the tenor of the film, and Herzog's anti-death penalty stance, it seems more likely to just be poor fact-checking.Herzog narrates the film, but the cinematography and music, by Peter Zeitlinger and Mark Degli Antoni, are not up to snuff. Again, very pedestrian, and one sense that Herzog almost feels as if he needs to get a film done, no matter what, including the quality. In the end, Perry fries, and Burkett survives, but the most important point comes from the daughter and sister of two of the victims, who describes the deep sense of peace and satisfaction she got from seeing the vile Perry bite the bullet, and her disappointment that Burkett and his then girlfriend (not seen in the film but at the scene of the crime) did not also get justice meted to them. It is to Herzog's credit as a man and an artist that he allows this sentiment to get out, despite his disagreement with it. Nonetheless, the whole film seems a pointless exercise, and Herzog accords it a similar energy.