Two of the most acclaimed black actors of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries together in this practically perfect two part TV movie about one of the most horrific serial killings in history. They are also two of the most well-known voices and modern history, James Earl Jones and Morgan Freeman, and their teaming together before Freeman became a star and household name is a master class in how to command attention in a movie that breaks your heart as its story unfolds. Freeman, as narrator and actor, is touching in his calm sincerity in aiding the tragedy to unfold.
The first part of two is excellent, showing the build-up of the case and the horrors that black families go through as their young children are slowly murdered and dumped like garbage. It's also play expose of how changing politics in a city previously run by all whites begins to change as blacks begin to gain power, giving suspect to various conspiracy theories while another horror begins to rise.
There are moments in this film that will have you cringing as the decomposing bodies of these children are found, senseless murders that has the public up in arms yet the press ruthless as they try to grasp headline grabbing stories at the expense of somebody else's pain. A scene where a woman discovers through the TV news that her child is dead and a female reporter simply asking her how she feels is very disgusting, maybe even more so by the fact that the cameraman is black and should be more sympathetic to a situation that is affecting his community. It's one of those moments that really makes you angry.
Over four decades have passed since this horrific situation took place, and thanks to Abby Mann's sensitive teleplay, the viewer feels every raw emotion expressed in the angry, shocked and grieving community. Performances by Martin Sheen and Calvin Levels as charismatic main suspect Wayne Williams (who comes in about an hour into this part) are also excellent. Many actors (black and white) whose names and faces are very familiar to audiences from the time appear in cameos, and it's obvious that their interest in the project was as personal as it was professional.
The murders themselves are not shown. However, scenes of the various victims before they disappear and two children running when it appears they are about to be victimized is very haunting. The first part ends as an arrest is made, a gripping way to get the audience to be prepared for the second part which covers the trial and aftermath.
The first part of two is excellent, showing the build-up of the case and the horrors that black families go through as their young children are slowly murdered and dumped like garbage. It's also play expose of how changing politics in a city previously run by all whites begins to change as blacks begin to gain power, giving suspect to various conspiracy theories while another horror begins to rise.
There are moments in this film that will have you cringing as the decomposing bodies of these children are found, senseless murders that has the public up in arms yet the press ruthless as they try to grasp headline grabbing stories at the expense of somebody else's pain. A scene where a woman discovers through the TV news that her child is dead and a female reporter simply asking her how she feels is very disgusting, maybe even more so by the fact that the cameraman is black and should be more sympathetic to a situation that is affecting his community. It's one of those moments that really makes you angry.
Over four decades have passed since this horrific situation took place, and thanks to Abby Mann's sensitive teleplay, the viewer feels every raw emotion expressed in the angry, shocked and grieving community. Performances by Martin Sheen and Calvin Levels as charismatic main suspect Wayne Williams (who comes in about an hour into this part) are also excellent. Many actors (black and white) whose names and faces are very familiar to audiences from the time appear in cameos, and it's obvious that their interest in the project was as personal as it was professional.
The murders themselves are not shown. However, scenes of the various victims before they disappear and two children running when it appears they are about to be victimized is very haunting. The first part ends as an arrest is made, a gripping way to get the audience to be prepared for the second part which covers the trial and aftermath.
