Trial by Fire

R

Released May 17, 2019

2 hr. 7 min.

Drama

Biography

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List

62%

71 Reviews

Tomatometer

71%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Cameron Todd Willingham, a poor, uneducated heavy metal devotee who has a violent streak and a criminal record, is convicted of arson-related triple homicide in 1992. During his 12 years on death row, Elizabeth Gilbert, an improbable ally, uncovers questionable methods and illogical conclusions in his case and battles with the state to expose suppressed evidence that could save him.

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Premiered May 03

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Critics Consensus

Trial by Fire has a worthy -- and heartbreaking -- story to tell, but this well-acted dramatization is undermined by its aggressively manipulative approach.

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Audience Member

Inquietante rappresentazione del sistema giudiziario americano in questa storia vera in cui tutti gli elementi sono costruiti in modo tale da rendere il più evidente possibile l'ingiustizia compiuta e la pericolosità della pena di morte come condanna. Jack O'Connell non sfrutta a pieno l'occasione, la sua interpretazione è buona, soprattutto quando può sfogare la sua voce, mentre resta più impalpabile ed impenetrabile quando si entra nella psicologia: stesso discorso per Laura Dern, buona samaritana a cui però manca il guizzo di simpatia. Mancano in maniera abbastanza evidente le testimonianze o almeno qualche fotogramma dei veri personaggi e del vero evento. Vista la propensione del film a rendere il più visibile possibile l'ingiustizia compiuta, qualche spunto della vera faccenda avrebbe aiutato.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

Full Review

joe c

Pretty good, and an accurate account from what I remember. One crucial detail was left out, however.... In the end, the text notes that Texas State Forensic Science Commission found that the official arson investigation was based on junk science, and it shows Rick Perry extolling the virtue of the justice system in Texas, but it entirely neglects to mention that Perry interfered with the commission's investigation, fired commissioners interested in pursuing the case, and stacked it with lackeys who buried it for him.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

toby h

Trial by Fire is an old fashioned courtroom drama with a wonderful turn by O'Connell in the lead. It's a powerful story which looks at the wider issues of capital punishment. Injustice is served.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

You can comment on the production values, you can comment on the quality of the dramatic performances and to be fair, they are good. However, an hour in all I can see is a left wing, do gooder moral tale of; the death penalty's is wrong. There is no drama, no real story, no suspense, it just plods slowly along to any eventual conclusion that is designed to convince you that the death penalty is wrong. That's not entertaining that's propaganda. If you want to be preached to and listen to a morality tale, fine. If you want drama, intrigue, drama, suspense, entertainment, an kind of story, pretty much anything that doesn't make you feel like an idiot, well, watch something else.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Beautiful movie, cast well and directed superbly. It leads one to believe the opposite happens of the true narrative, which makes it somewhat shocking at the end, and left me in tears. Must watch!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Manny P

It's not that good from the outset. Jacks accent is all over the shop. The animated fire scenes are pathetic. It's a harrowing true story, but there a million like it and it brings nothing to the party.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/05/21

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Edward Zwick

Director

Jack O'Connell

Cameron Todd Willingham

Laura Dern

Elizabeth Gilbert

Emily Meade

Stacy Willingham

Jeff Perry

Hurst

Jade Pettyjohn

Julie Gilbert

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Trial by Fire: Trailer 1

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Clarisse Loughrey

Independent (UK)

Trial by Fire... forces Willingham through a kind of poetic transformation.

Rated: 2/5

Dec 10, 2020

Full Review

Ty Burr

Boston Globe

Powerful stuff, but unpowerfully told, in part because the energies in "Trial by Fire" are split between proving Todd Willingham's innocence and building an argument against the death penalty no matter what the verdict.

Rated: 1.5/4

May 24, 2019

Full Review

David Edelstein

New York Magazine/Vulture

The movie is painstakingly well made and murderously hard to sit through.

May 20, 2019

Full Review

M.N. Miller

Ready Steady Cut

Unbroken‘s Jack O’Connell carries Trial by Fire and gives a combustible turn as an unlikeable man who loved his children dearly, but who can’t get out of his own way.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 22, 2022

Full Review

Kat Hughes

THN

The intricate and emotional beats are played out beautifully on screen by Jack O'Connell and Laura Dern.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 7, 2020

Full Review

Steven Prokopy

Third Coast Review

Trial by Fire is beautifully acted, especially by Dern, who plays a woman who is looking for purpose while also trying to raise her kids right, even though they don't always believe in what she's doing.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 28, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

Cameron Todd Willingham, a poor, uneducated heavy metal devotee who has a violent streak and a criminal record, is convicted of arson-related triple homicide in 1992. During his 12 years on death row, Elizabeth Gilbert, an improbable ally, uncovers questionable methods and illogical conclusions in his case and battles with the state to expose suppressed evidence that could save him.

Director: Edward Zwick
Executive Producer: Kathryn Dean, Marshall Herskovitz
Screenwriter: Geoffrey Fletcher
Distributor: Roadside Attractions
Production Co: Roadside Attractions, Universal Studios Inc.
Rating: R (Disturbing Images|Brief Nudity|Language Throughout|Sexual Material|Some Violence)
Genre: Drama, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 17, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 30, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $143.3K

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