Foot: Film Festival Review

Crime After Crime

A.   Personal Issues- This film showcased the life of Debbie Peagler and her unlawful sentence of spending at least 25 years in prison for having her boyfriend killed to get his life insurance. Seeing a lady that looked like she had transformed her life and made something out of herself after what she supposedly did was what hit me strongly. So many times there are people that go to jail and just sit there and then want out on good behavior. If you just sit there everyday knowing that you can get out for behaving for a year, well then everyone would do that.  Debbie took it a step further. She didn’t just sit around. Instead, Debbie was a leader for her church group, instructed people making electrical components, and inspired many other women in the prison. I felt compassion for her because she was trying to do something regardless of what she had done in the past. After 25 years serving and forgiveness from her victims family, I really thought she could be released. The court just kept overturning her case. Everytime there was hope, she was let down. I definitely was moved when the court sent her a letter saying she was going to get out, and then took it back, saying that was not the best choice. This lady was so grateful for her attorneys to try to fight for her case. The most moving part was when she was diagnosed with lung cancer. It was so hard to see a lady go through the treatments involved with cancer and then have to go back to prison. I know personally of how horrifying the aftermaths of chemotherapy can be from watching my aunt go through breast cancer. I think that other people could easily see my response to the things Debbie had to go through if they have ever had a loved one go through cancer. It’s hard enough to go through cancer at home; it would only be harder in prison. When Debbie was given only eight months to live, I could not understand why the district attorney would not let her out. I highly doubt that she would be focused on anything demeaning, but rather living her last days to the fullest. 

B.  Technique- This was not technically a movie where they acted out the scenes. I am sure that Debbie’s attorneys might have had to rehearse some of the monologues, but for the most part it seemed that things were shot based on how they were occurring. One technique that I really liked was the rolling years that would show before certain scenes. This was more of a documentary, so the years were important and at each important year a black screen would appear with a dial turning to the date. Then, sometimes they would give a short synopsis of what had happened during the time between what was just shown and what would be shown in the next year. The techniques that mattered most were not the different shots the camera gave, but the screen titles of what was happening, the dates that were appearing, and the statistics. The biggest strength was all of the data that they gave. This is a true story and it was so believeable because of all of the data that they used. I was not interested in how the camera moved, but the ladies story and if her attorneys were going to win. One of the weaknesses was that it ended like so many other movies ended. She got out of prison and then it was over. I’m not even sure what I would have liked for them to do, but I think it would have been interesting to see snippets of the attorneys and if they have held any cases like hers since her passing. I was ecstatic to see her released, but really wanted the movie to continue. 

C.   Acting-I guess I kind have answered the part of acting in the technique section above. Again, this was a documentary of a battered woman’s life in prison. She was not acting, but was going through her daily life. She was singing in church, talking with friends, and instructing others all while in prison. The attorneys were basically telling their findings. Most of the time they were sitting in front of the camera talking to it. Other times they were talking with Debbie. I’m pretty sure that they could not have had the time to set up rehearsing and acting while in prison. Everything was so credible because it was actually happening. The producer actually had to ask to film the whole prison because they weren’t allowed to just film one person, so they filmed the whole person in order to get to film Debbie in her actual environment. 

D  Plot- Crime After Crime was a nonfictional film about Debbie Peagler supposedly having her boyfriend killed in Los Angeles, so she could receive his life insurance. The actually story is that Debbie moved back in with her mother and her boyfriend, Oliver, moved in with someone else to try to help both of them get their lives back on track. Oliver would not leave Debbie alone, so he mother suggested the gang in their community get Oliver to leave Debbie alone. Two guys end up beating Oliver to death and they along with Debbie are charged with at least 25 years in prison. Two attorneys hear of Debbie’s case and come to her defense. They fought for over seven years trying to free her. It showcases a battle between the court system and a woman fighting for her life. In the end, Oliver’s family forgives Debbie and pleads for her release; she is diagnosed with lung cancer and finally gets released ten months before passing away. Most of the film is shot in the prison where Debbie resided for 25 years. We get information from both her attorneys and the district attorney. Her family, as well as Oliver’s has say in the film too.  

  

E.    Themes-The main theme of this movie was that battered woman are being wrongfully accused. Debbie was trying to save her own life and ended up serving for it. Oliver would beat her with a whip, give her black eyes, and make her fearful of her life. The producer wanted to tell her story because there are so many more women, whom are serving an unjust term. Not only does it tell us about woman who are fighting for their lives, but the cracks in our court system. We got to see leaders of the state, like district attorney Steve Cooley, who were cheating the system and people. These themes were very thought provoking. It left you feeling sorry for the people who have to take the blame for others wrongdoings. I don’t really think that there were hidden messages in this film, but there are hidden messages in the real story and this film brought those hidden messages, like Debbie not actually having Oliver killed for his life insurance to light. The basis for the movie was to tell this woman’s story, so more people would be aware. The producer doesn’t want people to be blindsided by the false realities of the media. The messaged are integrated with the plot, paralleling with Debbie’s adventure of living in jail. 

F.    Genre- This film is a documentary. It could be classified as a crime story as well. It’s a true story, but it is about a crime that a woman supposedly did. Practically the whole film was shot in and around the prison, so it’s definitely a crime story. What makes it even more enriching is that it’s true and so the documentary includes a crime story. People like to see things that are real, things that you don’t think could happen that really do. Debbie is a inspiration to many people and brings to light the aspects of the court and how unfair they can be. 

G.   Representation- The story represented the people in prison as not as bad as the rest of society makes them out to be. There could be other prison stories, where they want you to see how horrid the people are. That was not the case here. Oliver was not really outcasted for what he did. The main focus was on bringing freedom to Debbie. They wanted to show Debbie in the best light to let her free. The people in the courts who have higher status were represented as snobbish and not caring. Many times they would not even speak to the cameras and would not listen to the facts being told. Instead, they were only worried about representing themselves and fixing their hair. That last statement is actually true. They showed the district attorney (a guy) styling his hair before getting ready to get interviewed. The basis of the movie was the struggle between Debbie and the court system, and it was nonfictional, so there are facts backing her, but it definitely did highlight Debbie’s good deeds and the courts bad deeds. 

H.   Ideology- Cultural beliefs on believing the juridical system and believing battered women were challenged. We were shown the true colors of the people working against the inmates. No matter how hard Debbie’s attorneys tried they knew they would probably be denied because of how the system works. I’m sure this was not a surprise to many people, as we all know how messed up the court can be at times. Also, we were shown that just because you are in prison doesn’t mean that it’s your fault. There are chances for people to change and grow from their wrongdoings. One might have thought of Debbie as just another black woman that was getting beat by her boyfriend. At the end of the film I’m sure they thought differently. She didn’t just stay with him and not try to improve herself. She moved out and was trying to move on and that’s when she got wrongfully accused. The film was filled with examples of our beliefs as a culture on prison and what happens there. Debbie is just one example of how sometimes you are able to deny the odds and break beyond the barriers. 

   
    To learn more about the film see the link here. http://crimeaftercrime.com/
    To see some snippets of the film check out the video below. It's truly an amazing story!