Truly Dreadful Film

It is a performances centric movie

Don't listen to the negative reviews

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

A man sitting in a chair telling his story. Not something I would usually seem interested in. However after five minutes in I was captivated. He is so well articulate, honest and has this hypnotic voice that just holds your attention. Such an incredible story and so well expressed. The way he describes situations makes you feel like you are there with him. One of the best documentaries by far.

Short and sweet: The Fear of 13 is a simple set up that pays off in groves. One man sitting down and telling his heartbreaking and humbling story with what seems like no script at all; this film blends a documentary-esque interview with well-shot sequences that foreshadow and illustrate effectively.I adore this film for not trying to be anything more that what it is, and applaud the filmmakers and Nick Yaris for telling me this story. Also, there is one scene of a man singing in prison that hits me hard, and has ended up being one of my favorite sequences in film.

This documentary had so much potential. The story was there: a man who was wrongfully convicted, sentenced to death, begged to be executed and was finally released. However, the director decided to go with an unconventional story telling approach and the film suffers greatly for it. Instead of what we conventionally see in documentaries, where the film makers interview multiple people in the case and chronicle the investigation and journey the subject has gone through, David Sington basically lets Nick Yarris ramble into the camera for an hour and a half. At times, his incessant rambling bordered on unbearable and just annoying. I'm sure many people enjoy the unconventional approach to story telling, but for someone like me who's interested in the failings of our criminal justice system, I want to hear from more than one person. When I watch something about a person who was wrongfully convicted, I want to know how the hell did this happen? I want to know about the legal proceedings and the case. The entire time I was watching this I was thinking well what the hell happened to this woman? What do the detectives, prosecutors, etc. have to say about the damage they've done? Instead, I got a very disjointed non-linear story from only one person and a summary of the vocabulary words he used. It's not horrible, and it's not a necessarily a waste to watch, but there are so many other documentaries about the wrongfully accused and convicted that are so much more powerful and insightful than this one.

The first thing that struck me about this film was Mr Yarris's incredible story telling ability. It is non-fiction but I immediately had to IMDb it to check because I was sure he was an actor. His talent with words and elegance with delivery grows throughout the film. This, coupled with skillfully placed flash back scenes, completely immerse you into the story. Yarris's life could easily be argued as one of the most tragic ever to be lived. For a film which is essentially a 90 minute interview, I was completely blown away by how much it entertained me and moved me. A dark horse of quality film and story telling. Added to my repeat watch list and recommended to everyone I know.