One Minute to Nine

I saw One Minute to Nine at Locarno Film Festival in 2007 and it has not left my mind since. There are few documentary films that leave an impression on me, mainly because the subject matter always seems to be marred by outdated and formulaic methods (i.e. talking heads and unnecessary captions). This was not the case with One Minute to Nine. Not only is One Minute to Nine incredibly moving, but it is also innovative in its style. The full story of Wendy's struggle to overcome the violence in her marriage is revealed to the audience progressively and allows the viewer to understand Wendy's story naturally almost as if Davis is granting the trust necessary to reveal such a horrific story. It is the type of film that leaves you feeling so aware and united with Wendy that it would be impossible to forget.

Naturally questions are raised throughout the entire film. In my opinion, trying to answer all of these questions would take away from the relationship that the viewer has built with Wendy in her last five days before going to prison. Instead, these questions are left unanswered and seem to parallel Wendy's own inability to comprehend the injustice she has faced. This is not a documentary that attempts to resolve Wendy's struggle, but to bring it to light. By not explicitly addressing the questions raised throughout the film, I feel Davis is also allowing the audience to remain frustrated by domestic violence rather than placate them with possible explanations or solutions. In this film, the unexplained resonates strongest.

A friend asked me to see this film at SXSW. I walked into the theater knowing nothing and she was right, the story is incredibly powerful. The way the story is told made me pay attention, and as the details of the Wendy's life came into focus I was shocked by the story. Following the film one member of the audience even mentioned that he had to go for a long walk. That about summed up my feelings. I wanted to feel bad for everything I had just seen, but I was left with some inkling of hope that things will be better. I have the utmost admiration for Wendy and total contempt at the deficiencies in our justice system. A great film about a very sad and common problem in today's society.

I read that Davis had only a few days to shoot this before Wendy had to report to her sentencing, and with such a time constraint he managed to pull off one of the best documentary-film's I have seen in a while--even with only an hour of footage! Watching this brought some of the same feelings back I had from watching "Paradise Lost"--about the "West Memphis Three", except all of the facts were on the table here with Wendy's case. This creative piece really makes the people who say "well your the one who stays with the guy who beats you up--it's your fault!" feel like complete idiots. Audiences can now realize that so much is at stake when leaving an abusive man who is the father of your children. Especially a man (like this monster) who would still probably find and kill Wendy and her kids no matter what little restraining order was in place.

I love how the home videos were integrated with the whole film, It was mostly the home shots that really got to me.

The last documentary I saw was "Boy Interrupted", and this one is just as heart wrenching/touching.

**Side Note** Why would HBO change the name of this film!? One Minute to 9 is perfect! They probably think by adding a profane word that it would catch more audience attention...They are wrong, all you need to do is just see a couple seconds of the film to get hooked--like I did!

*Gave 9 stars because I wanted a little bit more of a back story...But that does not take away the fact that "One Minute to 9" will stay in your head for a long time after watching it!

I saw the HBO version with the changed title. My low rating does not reflect my lack of interest in the actual case itself. I wish 48 Hours made this instead of a pretentious filmmaker. THere is sadly, nothing new or strange about this case or the people involved that merits "a day in the life of" approach taken to showing the 4 days leading up to her sentencing and the past flashbacks. The doc starts off great showing anold eerie clip of the family at some carnival like setting.

We get thewhole picture of the dynamics and what life was and is like for these people in the first 15 minutes. Why is it deemed revelatory that the killers are ordinary good people? Showing the mother just go through the motions in those four days is a waste of my time and bores me. It is because we understand right away why she did what she did. We do not need to see boring footage to be convinced this is a normal woman.

They could have easily condensed the first 50 minutes into 15 minutes and spent more time exploring at least one or more of the following issues - why did the cops fail them, and why did such an indifferent system all of a sudden feel the need to extract justice now and sentence them to an inhumane amount of time in jail? Showing the judge mentioning that his hands were tied was not enough. There had to be some depiction of the defense team and why they failed the mother and son.

The blunt truth is this . This is a case that is sadly not uncommon in our society. The filmmaker taking a passive approach doesn't reveal to us anything that is educational or revelatory. What is of interest is how the system failed them before and after the murder. I would like to know what the defense attorneys said that did not convince her she didn't have a good chance of a better outcome? I would like to know why the DA was not persuaded to present a better deal.

Watch this.

This is the kind of documentary that couldn't have been made, or at least not as well, before the advent of camcorders. The story is basically that of a battered family, ending in murder. It raises questions of what murder and justifiable homicide are... and leaves the answer to the viewer.

The most haunting aspects of this film are the homemade footage in which the question is perpetually forced upon the victim/murderer... Wendy? Wendy? The subject is forced, both by her attacker and the filmmaker to look into the camera and decide to answer either honestly or dishonestly.

The version I saw was the HBO documentary called Every F*ing Day, and that title seems much more appropriate. This movie gives a strange new meaning to familial bonds and love, and it leaves you hurting to find out how anyone can come out of such a situation intact.