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Murder on a Sunday Morning

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7.4/10 • 56

2001-09-141h 51m

CrimeDocumentary

2001 French documentary about the murder trial of a 15 year old black teen accused of murder in Jacksonville, Florida. Winner of 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary.

Directors
Jean-Xavier de Lestrade

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Ann Finnell

    Ann Finnell

    Herself

  2. Patrick McGuinness

    Patrick McGuinness

    Himself

  3. James Williams

    James Williams

    Himself

  4. Michael Glover

    Michael Glover

    Himself

  5. Dwayne Darnell

    Dwayne Darnell

    Himself

  6. Brenton Butler

    Brenton Butler

    Himself

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Sep 2, 2024

7/10

When a (white) woman walking through an hotel lobby is shot at point blank range, the fifteen year old (black) Brenton Butler is arraigned on charges of murder and armed robbery. What now ensues is quite a telling example of an investigative process that comes across as one determined to expedite a result rather than get to the truth. Fortunately for Butler, he has a lawyer who is prepared to work hard on isolating the various witness testimonies and illustrating the flaws and inconsistencies from a combination of statements ranging from the sloppy to the downright perverse by way of quite a few lies and violence en route. The documentary makers manage to immerse us in the detail of the process and also to engage us in genuine senses of apprehension for the youngster and disgust for one or two of the lazy, possibly bigoted, and incompetent police officers whose approach to this whole crime did no-one any justice at all - not the victim, the accused nor the judicial system that has to evaluate these contrary assertions. The documentary does adopt a very pro-defendant position and that doesn't always provide us with a balance. Not that there's much doubt as to the verdict, but for a fair part of the trial process which is extensively reflected here, the prosecuting attorney isn't mic'd up and so her objections or ad hoc comments are inaudible as his defender Patrick McGuinness goes on the offensive. As is often the case with documentaries like this, it's the closing textual slides that provoke the most visceral of responses and offer us food for future conversation, but even though this is probably half an hour longer than it needs to be, it's still a well put together analysis of the effectiveness of an independent justice system that supports the right of everyone to a trial by their peers.

Media

  • Murder on a Sunday Morning poster
  • Murder on a Sunday Morning poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
French
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
floridatrialmurderpolice corruptioncourtroomtrue crimemurder trialracial injustice