Roadside Attractions has released the Trial by Fire trailer. Based on a true story, the film follows the unlikely bond between a death row inmate (Jack O’Connell) and a mother of two from Houston (Laura Dern), who fights for his freedom when she uncovers questionable methods and illogical conclusions in his case.
I have mixed feelings on this one. On the one hand, I’m a big fan of these two actors, and more than that, I like how the film is apparently looking towards a broken system rather than one case of injustice. The question comes with how much it’s willing to make the audience uncomfortable and say that what happened to O’Connell’s character was part of a larger miscarriage of justice that prizes convictions over the truth, or if this was just an isolated incident. It’s been a while since director Ed Zwick made a great movie (for me, you’d have to go back to 2008’s Defiance for something even halfway decent), but maybe he’ll be on the rebound with this film.
Check out the Trial by Fire trailer below. The film opens May 17th and also stars Emily Meade and Jeff Perry.
Here’s the official synopsis for Trial by Fire:
Trial by Fire is the true-life Texas story of the unlikely bond between an imprisoned death row inmate (Jack O’Connell) and a mother of two from Houston (Laura Dern) who, though facing staggering odds, fights mightily for his freedom. Cameron Todd Willingham, a poor, uneducated heavy metal devotee with 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.