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The Thin Blue Line (1988) directed by Errol Morris

Synopsis:

Among the most important documentaries ever made, The Thin Blue Line, by Errol Morris, erases the border between art and activism. A work of meticulous journalism and gripping drama, it recounts the disturbing tale of Randall Dale Adams, a drifter who was charged with the murder of a Dallas police officer and sent to death row, despite evidence that he did not commit the crime. Incorporating stylized reenactments, penetrating interviews, and haunting original music by Philip Glass, Morris uses cinema to build a case forensically while effortlessly entertaining his viewers. The Thin Blue Line effected real-world change, proving film’s power beyond the shadow of a doubt. - Criterion

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The Documentary Film: An Evolving Journey

The documentary film has been part of cinema since its earliest days; it was the first film genre, back when the Lumière brothers created Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory in 1895 and other actualities, stories which captured simple slices of everyday life. But as with other genres, there have been significant movements and radical transformations throughout its history.

Robert Flaherty’s Nanook of the North (1922) introduced a form of storytelling that blended reality with creative narrative. Flaherty told the story of an Inuk family as they battled the elements to survive in the Canadian Arctic, combining documentary footage with staged sequences. Nanook is widely considered one of the first major American documentaries.

Another major documentary from the 1920s was Dziga Vertov's Man with a Movie Camera (1929), which melded experimental cinematography with Soviet montage theory to craft a unique nonfiction film.

The 1930s and 1940s saw documentaries being used as powerful propaganda tools, with filmmakers like Leni Riefenstahl (Triumph of the Will and Olympia) as well as Frank Capra and John Ford showcasing cinema's potential to influence public opinion.

Post World War II, two major movements, Direct Cinema in the United States and Cinéma Vérité in France, pushed documentaries more towards observational filmmaking. Pioneers D.A. Pennebaker and Jean Rouch made films from the perspective of unobtrusive observers, capturing life as it unfolded, exemplified in works like Chronicle of a Summer (1961) and Don't Look Back (1967), as well as the Up Series (Michael Apted, 9 parts, 1964-2019), which followed the lives of a group of English children, with a new edition every 7 years.

Errol Morris: Unconventional Path to a Revolutionary Voice

Before reshaping documentary filmmaking, Errol Morris's path was anything but ordinary. During the early 1970s, Morris attended, and left, quite a few of the most prestigious American universities, among them Harvard, Princeton, and Berkeley.

He was a film nut with a particular love for noir. After hovering around a film enthusiasts club in Berkeley for a while, he decided to pursue filmmaking.

His first project was to be a documentary about the serial killer Ed Gein, who had inspired Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). Morris traveled to Wisconsin and began conducting interviews, including several interviews with Gein. However, he never finished the project.

While working on this project, he met Werner Herzog, who was also interested in Ed Gein. Herzog being Herzog, he encouraged Morris to secretly open Gein's mother's grave, to test the theory that Gein had dug her up previously. However, they decided not to.

Herzog also made a good-natured bet that Morris would never finish a film, declaring he would eat his shoe if Morris ever did. Perhaps that was the motivation Morris needed.

Morris's first completed film was Gates of Heaven (1978), a quirky yet deeply engaging exploration of a pet cemetery business. While the film wasn't a commercial success, it was a critical hit. Roger Ebert loved the film and at one point ranked it among his top 10 films of all time.

Herzog made good on the bet, by the way, cooking and eating one of his shoes. Naturally, there's a documentary about it: Les Blank's Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (1980).

Herzog helped finance Morris' next film, Vernon, Florida (1981), where Morris's fascination with eccentric, everyday characters shone through. The film concerned a macabre insurance fraud conspiracy among its residence, where people willingly amputated their limbs to collect insurance money.

After Vernon, Florida, Morris spent time as a private investigator working on white collar crime, which greatly influenced his approach to filmmaking.

The Thin Blue Line: Redefining Documentary Realism

Errol Morris's The Thin Blue Line (1988) transcends the conventional bounds of documentary filmmaking, melding investigative rigor with a narrative richness rarely seen in the genre.

The film meticulously unravels the wrongful conviction of Randall Dale Adams, accused of murdering a Dallas police officer. In doing so, it masterfully intertwines elements of detective work and cinematic artistry.

Morris pioneered new techniques in documentary storytelling. He weaved a multifaceted narrative, layering complex interviews with dramatizations, all underpinned by Philip Glass's haunting score. This intricate tapestry challenges the audience to navigate the murky waters between fact and crafted narrative, pushing the boundaries of the documentary form.

A key innovation in Morris's technique is his use of reenactments, a method seldom seen in documentaries at the time. These scenes, filmed on sound stages and with a discerning eye for detail, are infused with a distinct film noir aesthetic, reflecting Morris's admiration for the genre. The shadowy, stylized visuals are not mere recreations; they serve as a profound commentary on the nature of testimony and truth.

Morris's reenactments are a bold statement on the act of storytelling itself. He posits that a witness, in recounting their experience, is as much an author and storyteller as any screenwriter or director. By choosing which details to include and how to articulate them, the witness shapes the narrative, molding the audience's perception of reality.

In The Thin Blue Line, these stylized scenes underscore the subjective nature of truth and memory's fluidity, inviting viewers to critically engage with the narrative, discerning fact from carefully crafted fiction. In this way, the film is a spiritual cousin to Kurosawa's Rashomon.

Through The Thin Blue Line, Morris not only explores the fallibility of memory and the justice system but also revolutionizes the language of documentary filmmaking. The film stands as a testament to the power of cinema in shaping our understanding of truth and reality.

The Legacy and Influence of The Thin Blue Line

Almost immediately upon release, critics hailed the film as one of the greatest documentaries ever made. However, some debate emerged about whether a film full of reenactments and subjectivity could truly be considered a documentary, and the Academy declined to nominate the film for Best Documentary Feature at the 1989 Oscars.

The film helped lead to the exoneration of Randall Dale Adams, who was serving a life sentence, as well as significant reforms within the Dallas Police Department. Adams spent the rest of his life as an anti-death penalty activist.

The film's success sparked a surge in true-crime documentaries and influenced the stylistic approach of many future filmmakers. The use of dramatizations, once controversial, became more accepted; indeed, it's hard to imagine the true crime genre without the success of The Thin Blue Line.

Morris' film also established the true crime genre's credibility as a force for justice and helping overturn wrongful convictions. One of the most prominent cases in recent memory was the true crime podcast Serial (2014), which raised enough questions about Adnan Syed's conviction for the murder of Hae Minh Lee that his conviction was vacated and he was released from prison.

The film challenged other filmmakers to consider their role in the narratives they create, blending investigative journalism with cinematic storytelling. As we saw earlier in the series with Riefenstahl, documentary filmmakers have the power not only to capture and depict reality, but can actively shape it.

Post-"The Thin Blue Line," Morris continued to explore complex, often controversial subjects with his unique style. His subsequent films include A Brief History of Time (1991), a visually stunning adaptation of Stephen Hawking's book, which combined Morris's distinctive interviewing style with complex scientific concepts. In Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (1997), Morris wove together the stories of four individuals with unique professions, showcasing his ability to find profound connections in seemingly disparate narratives.

One of his most politically charged works, The Fog of War (2003), is an introspective look into the complexities of modern warfare and the moral dilemmas of leadership, and features an extended interview with former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara. The film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

This film, like The Thin Blue Line, utilized Morris's technique of the interrotron, a device allowing both the interviewer and interviewee to make direct eye contact with each other and the camera, creating a more intense and personal interview experience.

Morris continued to investigate challenging topics, including the Abu Ghraib prison scandal (2008's Standard Operating Procedure), as well as American Dharma (2018), a profile of political strategist and media executive Steve Bannon. These films continued to showcase Morris's fascination with the subjective nature of truth and his skill in compelling storytelling.

Morris's influence is seen in the works of many contemporary documentary filmmakers who have adopted aspects of his style, particularly his use of dramatizations and his focus on the philosophical and moral aspects of his subjects. His films have also contributed to serious discussions about the nature of truth, the ethics of documentary filmmaking, and the power of narrative in shaping public perception.

The late 20th century witnessed a flourishing of documentary exploration and experimentation. Filmmakers like Michael Moore (Roger & Me, Fahrenheit 9/11) and Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) brought subjective and personal narratives to the forefront, often blending fact with the filmmaker’s perspective or even participating in the film. Morris also influenced his friend Werner Herzog's approach to documentary filmmaking, as seen in his film Grizzly Man.

At the same time, new forms of nonfiction film continue emerging. Godfrey Reggio's Koyaanisqatsi (1982) and its spiritual sequels follow in the tradition of Vertov's Man with a Movie Camera, utilizing innovative cinematography and editing techniques to craft a sensory-heavy essay about modern life (the title of the film means "life out of balance").

Another movement that emerged in the late 20th century was the mockumentary - a blend of documentary-style filmmaking about a fictional subject. Christopher Guest became the most prominent creator of mockumentaries, with the films Waiting for Guffman (1996) and Best in Show (2000) among others, as well as acting in the classic This is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner, 1984).

The street artist Banksy blended fiction and documentary in his film Exit Through the Gift Shop (2009), which cleverly told the history of a group of street artists while also pulling one of his trademark pranks, as the film itself becomes an elaborate stunt to shock and provoke the art community. Reflecting the industry's evolving attitude toward documentaries and acceptance of more experimentation, the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

What to Watch For

Reenactment as a Storytelling Tool: Notice how Morris uses reenactments not just to depict events but to question the reliability of human perception and memory. Each reenactment is slightly different, reflecting the varied testimonies of witnesses. This approach was groundbreaking in documentary filmmaking and invites viewers to consider the elusive nature of truth.

Interview Techniques: Morris's interviews are central to the narrative. Pay attention to how he lets the subjects speak without interruption, often leading to revealing moments. The absence of the interviewer's voice (Morris's) in the film shifts the focus entirely to the interviewees, making their words more impactful. Morris invented a device called an interrotron, which allowed subjects to speak to an image of Morris projected on a teleprompter, which gave his interviews a more conversational and confessional style.

Cinematography and Visual Style: The film’s visual style is as crucial as its content. The use of stark lighting, close-ups, and the interplay of light and shadow not only creates a mood but also subtly influences how we perceive the interviewees and their credibility.

Philip Glass's Score: The haunting score by Philip Glass plays a pivotal role in setting the tone. Notice how the music aligns with the unfolding narrative, evoking a sense of unease and ambiguity, and how it complements the film’s theme of justice and the American legal system.

Editing and Pacing: The editing is a masterclass in building tension and guiding the audience through a complex story. Observe how the pacing and sequencing of interviews and reenactments are used to slowly unravel the mystery, encouraging viewers to piece together the puzzle themselves.

Themes and Symbolism: Beyond its surface narrative, the film delves into broader themes such as the fallibility of justice, the death penalty, and the power of media and storytelling. Look for symbolic elements and metaphors throughout the film that reinforce these themes.

Learn More About The Thin Blue Line

The Thin Blue Line: A Radical Classic essay for The Criterion Collection

Roger Ebert's review of The Thin Blue Line

Deep Focus Review of The Thin Blue Line