CITY LIFE
SCREEN TIME
‘A Wilderness of Error’ sows doubts JIM KEOGH
version of events favorable to their case. Instead, McGinniss famously concluded that the evidence against f you could be given the definiMacDonald offered unassailable tive answer to any one question proof of his guilt. in a notorious true-crime mysFifty years later, the MacDonald tery, what would it be? case is still the source of debate and Would you want to know if Osdissection, most recently in the fivewald acted alone? Who took the life part FX docuseries “A Wilderness of JonBenét Ramsey? Where Jimmy of Error.” The series is fueled by the Hoffa is buried? The identity of Jack 2012 book of the same name by Errol the Ripper, the Zodiac Killer, or the Morris, who argues that MacDonBlack Dahlia murderer? For me, I’d need to know whether ald likely did not do the crime and should be released. Morris bases his Capt. Jeffrey MacDonald, M.D., argument largely on the confession stabbed his wife and two young of Helena Stoeckley that she was one daughters to death on Feb. 17, 1970, of the band of hippies who invaded in their home in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. MacDonald is serving three the MacDonald home. Stoeckley, life sentences for the crimes, despite known as “the woman in the floppy hat” for her signature headwear, his assertion that the murders were repeated her claim on numerous committed by four hippies who occasions, with a notable exception. broke into the apartment in search of drugs. The saga was chronicled by On the stand at MacDonald’s trial, Joe McGinniss in his bestselling book she professed to not remembering anything about that night. “Fatal Vision,” in which he embedMorris is best known a master ded with MacDonald’s defense team documentary filmmaker who’s no and was assumed to be writing a
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stranger to the crime genre. His 1988 film “The Thin Blue” line was instrumental in freeing a man from death row by exposing the flaws in the case against him. I’ll give Morris credit for making a bold move with the “A Wilderness of Error.” He chose not to direct the film (it’s helmed by Marc Smerling) and his influence is mostly felt in front of the camera, where he’s interviewed about his perceptions of the case. Morris offers valid criticisms concerning the sloppiness of the crime-scene investigation and the suppression of key testimony at A scene from the docuseries “A Wilderness of Error.” MacDonald’s trial, which damaged his defense. FX But by surrendering the directing unreliable testimony of Stoeckley years ago. The evidence is still too duties to Smerling, Morris loses his powerful for me to draw a new and others. Morris answers “I don’t usual leverage of being the inquisiconclusion, despite Morris’s valiant know” to some questions — a retor and is left in the more humsponse I admire for its candor (I also attempt to convince me that the bling position of having to answer appreciate that these replies weren’t long shadow of the floppy hat should pointed questions. He turns preachy, edited out of the film). move anyone convinced of MacDonpronouncing how a compelling narald’s guilt to reconsider the events of I emerged from “A Wilderness of rative will always surpass objective Feb. 17, 1970. Of course, we’ll never Error” as saddened and outraged evidence, and he fumbles for why know for sure, will we? as when I read “Fatal Vision” many he’s invested so much faith in the
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WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
O CT O B E R 8 - 14, 2020
NEW ON DVD
‘John Lewis: Good Trouble’ follows life of beloved civil rights icon KATIE FORAN - MCHALE TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
the iconic activist. But its anchor is its subtitle: As Lewis said in March of this year, to commemorate the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, “Get in documentary featuring an good trouble, necessary trouble, and American legend tops the redeem the soul of America.” new DVD releases for the As Tribune News Service critic week of Sept. 29. Katie Walsh wrote in her review, the “John Lewis: Good Trouble”: documentary reminds us that these Rep. John Lewis died in July, leaving battles weren’t that long ago, and a breathtaking legacy. Known for marching across the Edmund Pettus they especially resonate in the current climate. Bridge on 1965’s Bloody Sunday to “Lewis is such a towering figure protest voting discrimination against Black people and risking his life amid in American history, and American politics, that any tribute to him is a deadly police beatings, his more than 40 arrests during the civil rights worthy one,” Walsh wrote. “We all have so much to thank him for.” movement protesting segregation, and decades of work toward legislaALSO NEW ON DVD SEPT. 29 tion in these areas as well as health care and gun reform (just to name a “Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile”: While on a cruise in Egypt, few), Lewis is affectionately profiled Detective Hercule Poirot (David in the documentary, directed by Suchet) encounters a love triangle Dawn Porter. with a conflict that turns deadly. Among its charming moments are the ones when Lewis reflects and Also stars Emily Blunt and JJ Feild. “Charmed: Season 2”: The ongoreacts on archival footage featuring
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ing reboot of the series featuring three sisters who discover they are witches. Stars Melonie Diaz, Madeleine Mantock, Sarah Jeffery and Rupert Evans. “Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America”: Documentary series breaks down historical context and compositional history for some of the most iconic hip-hop songs. “Penny Dreadful: City of Angeles Season One”: Showtime series follows a pair of late 1930s detectives (Daniel Zovatto and Nathan Lane) who encounter a disturbing Los Angeles murder. “DC’s Stargirl: Complete First Season”: CW series stars Brec Bassinger as the high school superhero who rallies an unlikely group together to fight evil. “Welcome to Sudden Death”: Sequel to 1995’s Jean-Claude Van Damme-starring “Sudden Death.” Stars Michael Jai White, Debby Ryan, Bill Burr, Ken Jeong and Gary Owen.
U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., is the subject of the documentary, “John Lewis: Good Trouble.” ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
OUT ON DIGITAL HD SEPT. 29 “The Dead Ones”: Teens in detention are hunted by a group dressed up as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. “Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna”: Animated film leads Tai and his pals to discover that as they get closer to adulthood, they’ll lose their bonds with their Digimon. Look for it on DVD and Blu-ray Oct. 6. “Inez & Doug & Kira”: A woman
and her fiance investigate her sister’s death by suicide. “The Silencing”: Years after a killer may have taken a hunter’s daughter, the hunter (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and a sheriff (Annabelle Wallis) set out to find him. “Wives in the Skies”: Romantic dramedy features a pair of female flight attendants in 1965 (Rachel Alig and Maddison Bullock) delving into an interview with a British journalist (Sebastian Fernandez).
