Why so much hype?

People are voting emotionally.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Disgraced (2017) **** (out of 4)Patrick Dennehy went to Baylor University to play basketball but one day he went missing and weeks later his body turned up. There was a mystery as to what happened but pretty soon details started leaking out including a cover up by head coach Dave Bliss.Having been a rabid basketball fan all my life, I still remember this ordeal and the shock waves that it sent through the sport back in the day. As someone in the documentary says, this here was much bigger than a sports scandal but I think the film also shows how powerful the NCAA and schools are that to this day there are so many unanswered questions as to what actually happened and why the school and Bliss were so determined to lie.The documentary interviews friends and family members of Dennehy as well as the man who would eventually be convicted for his murder. There are interviews with various officials, detectives and of course the big one is Bliss himself. The entire mystery that wraps around this story is something that would seem made up because you just can't believe some head coach would try to cover up a murder. What's even more shocking is how Bliss addresses the matter in his interview as well as a bombshell that happens towards the end of the picture.The documentary does a terrific job at explaining what all happened, when it happened and where we stand today. Like a lot of crime documentaries, this one here also opens up a can of worms by suggesting that there's more to the story than we currently know. There was more to the story as Bliss' interview here eventually came back to haunt him and he lost a job that he was. We shall see what happens going forward but it's clear there's much more going on.

In 2013, I saw a critically acclaimed documentary called "The Gatekeepers," which was an Israeli-made film about the Shin Bet - the Israeli version of America's FBI. However, the film was basically just a series of people looking into the camera and talking. This "talking heads" approach was boring, and I had to struggle to stay awake, even stopping it in the middle and watching it again the following day.So watching "Disgraced," I felt that same way. I came into this picture wanting to learn more about this news story that happened less than 15 years ago, and left knowing little more, and barely able to keep my eyes open. In addition to the boring "talking heads" approach, it is fascinating that the filmmakers chose on their own volition at the end of the movie to indicate who did NOT participate in this movie, and that includes Baylor University, most of the players on the team that year, and most of the attorneys who worked the case. It could have been so much better if there was more buy-in from these other groups.Also, I will admit that the most interesting part of the documentary was Dave Bliss's comments which he thought were off-the-record without the camera running. But I've also read that showing these comments was questionably ethical on the part of the filmmakers.Finally, it's clear who the filmmakers want the audience to believe "really" did it, or at the very least, what needs to be explored much more thoroughly by law enforcement. However, I'm sure legally they had to be very careful about what they could say without being sued, so this potentially powerful statement was extremely watered down.

Disgraced was well-received in its world premiere at Austin's SXSW Film Festival. The film explains the complex issues around the tragic disappearance and ultimate death of Baylor basketball player Patrick Dennehy. The events that led to the arrest and conviction of one of his teammates – Carlton Dotson - are complex and remain confusing since there was little explanation of that player's motivation. The director and his team did an excellent job of laying out the details of that multi-layered investigation. The web events that played out was complicated and ultimately led to a NCAA investigation of rules violations by Coach Dave Bliss and others. These included extensive allegations that Bliss – likely backed by boosters – paid player tuition and expenses. The director does an excellent job of dissecting this complicated true crime investigation. It reveals a pattern of extensive corruption at the heart of the world's largest Baptist University (which has continued recently with the cover-up of a massive sexual assault scandal). It is clear that Baylor University put winning ahead of the rules of amateur college athletics. As someone who has taught college athletes in Texas, I have to wonder if Baylor was worse than other college or just more careless so that they got caught? I suspect that Baylor may merely be one of the worst offenders in a deeply corrupt system. This is powerful film that asks may important questions about these tragic events and more broadly about the nature of college athletics. It has been picked up by Showtime so it should be widely seen by a wide audience and hopefully adds to a wide debate over college athletics. Oh, by the way, Baylor is #3 seed in the NCAA tournament announced this week.