Watching a documentary film is such a rewarding experience these days — between seeing those penguins march and Michael Moore fill up the frame, documenting the world seems refreshingly in-style. As audiences gradually recognize Hollywood tripe for what it is, they are finding that there is more out there than Ashley Judd running from hard-nosed kidnappers — again. Most intriguing is the excess of political-minded films that have sprouted up all over the local art-house scene as of late. Filmmakers are mad as hell, and it’s invigorating to see their ideas so vehemently expressed on screen.
Documentary filmmaker Jennifer Sanders has some bones to pick with the American justice system, but she prefers to gently slap the cheek of American legislators rather than swing with a bat. In “After Innocence,” she tells the stories of men falsely convicted and then released with the advent of DNA testing as evidence. Enduring years of imprisonment, the inmates have surprisingly come out all right. They have, however, lost quite a bit, and with no financial support from the government after being fully exonerated, their fate looks bleak.
Yet despair never gets the best of them, and their desire to jump back into the world is inspiring. Dennis Maher, wrongfully imprisoned for 19 years, is a modest man eager to get back to work. There is not a hint of anger or vengeance about him; his new boss indicates that he is a hard worker without any hang-ups. Sanders shows us a man never quite broken by the injustice he has faced — but to what extent will this reserve effectively change the political climate?
Even though Sanders would like the audience to see the resolve and peace exuding from these men, “After Innocence” works best when showcasing them at their breaking points. In a moment of heartrending outrage, Nick Yarris, a freed death row inmate, walks the streets with a loudspeaker. Calling upon the on-lookers with forceful indignation, the devastating implications of what has happened to him and men like him are cemented in the minds of passersby and the audience alike — as well raising the question of how to stop it from happening again. Yarris is one of many who feels like he has been through it all, and is still searching for that one thing to turn his life around.
But there is not enough of Yarris in “After Innocence.” As too many characters are weaved together with too many stories to tell, it feels as though we never fully inhabit their individual lives and are only informed about their experiences from a distance. Those harrowing insights into actual time in prison are cut in favor of packing in the multiple story lines. Sanders only skims the surface of these men, relegating their unsettled emotions to merely an afterthought.
These men clearly need assistance getting on their feet after years of unjust imprisonment. Whether compensated monetarily or provided with services to help rebuild their lives, the inmates need support from a system that has left them behind. The trouble with Sanders is that she is a bit too much of a softy to truly harpoon the American justice system. By focusing on inmates finding love through Match.com and receiving school diplomas after being released, the devastating aspects of prison barely creep in. Forget radical filmmaking — “After Innocence” evokes tears with such reassuring ease that one almost forgets about the pertinent message at hand.
(3 Stars)
