Trial by Fire

Does a classic scoundrel, with whom it’s almost impossible to sympathize, deserve a fair shake in court, especially with the death penalty in the balance? The true-life drama Trial by Fire makes an earnest yet effective argument.

This cynical examination of red-state, small-town justice from veteran director Edward Zwick (The Last Samurai) will get your blood boiling sufficiently, although it stumbles when attempting a broader critique of capital punishment and the criminal justice system.

In December 1991, Todd Willingham (Jack O’Connell), was convicted of intentionally setting fire to his Texas home and killing all three of his children inside. A quick trial leads to a death sentence.

As an unfit parent with a violent temper and an extensive criminal record, was he convicted based solely on his reputation rather than on the facts of the case? Todd steadfastly maintains his innocence without presenting any evidence to the contrary. “I’ll die before I say I killed my own kids,” he explains bluntly.

That insistence intrigues Houston mother Elizabeth Gilbert (Laura Dern), Todd’s prison pen pal with a troubled personal life of her own. Elizabeth starts digging into the case and finds that pertinent evidence supporting Todd’s claims either has been suppressed or ignored, and becomes a relentless crusader in the face of a perceived cover-up that goes all the way to the governor.

It’s a relentlessly bleak story with no heroes and plenty of villains in which the truth and justice sometimes seem hopelessly elusive. So appreciation of the film might come down to acceptance of Todd and Elizabeth’s righteous indignation, considering the life-or-death stakes.

British actor O’Connell (Unbroken) aids that cause with a powerful performance that conveys a shred of empathy for the cause. So does Dern, whose character is a calming influence both for Todd and the audience, even if her unconditional support never feels fully justified.

Despite some clumsy narrative devices and an embellished race-against-the-clock urgency, the screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious) is more intriguing when dealing with the specifics of Todd’s case than charting a path to personal redemption simply by inviting moviegoers to believe his side of the story.

Still, O’Connell’s portrayal turns the film into a gut-wrenching probe of the psychology of a death-row inmate clinging to hope against the odds. That’s how, from an emotional perspective, Trial by Fire builds its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Rated R, 127 minutes.