I enjoyed the movie and have no problems whatsoever with regards to being entertained while discovering a notable take on recent misjudgments from the history of the Deep South.
There is nothing substandard here. Proper screenwriting, fine acting, fairly delivered social commentary.
But also, there is nothing new. Every single aspect of this film had already made its way into cinema, and with even sharper tones. To Kill A Mockingbird (which is cited many times in the movie itself) aside, we got The Green Mile as an unforgettable fiction on racism-infused violations of lives and the horros of murder-by-state, a.k.a. Capital punishment. We saw Dead Man Walking, we saw Monsters' Ball. We not only know well the pillars on which this film was erected, but we also literally witnessed cinematic greatness thanks to several scenes that covered the transformations of people who in one way or another took part in or witnessed prison executions.
I'm not arguing that this story was not worth being told on the screen. What I don't get is why they shot it almost like a high quality TV movie, and never bothered come up with edgier moments.
I have this gut feeling that, those who are impressed by this movie have missed out on almost a dozen high-caliber, tough-to-swallow, groundbraking movies from the past decades.
Not a 6, not an 8, a solid and straight 7. That's it.
