70
Metascore
7 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88RogerEbert.comGodfrey CheshireRogerEbert.comGodfrey CheshireBesides being a riveting true-crime story, Shawn Rech and Brandon Kimber’s A Murder in the Park is a film that makes a powerful case that some cherished liberal beliefs aren’t always congruent with the truth; in fact, sometimes they are the exact opposite.
- 80Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlVillage VoiceAlan ScherstuhlDirectors Shawn Rech and Brandon Kimber piece the story together via fresh interviews, vintage footage, and too many iffy reenactments and close-ups of news stories. But the matter here transcends the artlessness.
- 80Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleLos Angeles TimesRobert AbeleWhatever your feelings on capital punishment, A Murder in the Park has a gripping story to tell about, oddly enough, the corrosive effects of storytelling on the justice system when it gets the best of reasoned minds.
- 70The New York TimesDaniel M. GoldThe New York TimesDaniel M. GoldThe filmmakers have skillfully laid out a complex and murky story of crime and justice that, more than 30 years on, continues to scandalize.
- 63Slant MagazineClayton DillardSlant MagazineClayton DillardIts wholly complex and provocative social pleas slip too frequently into the seedy realm of journalistic exploitation.
- 63New York PostSara StewartNew York PostSara StewartThe facts (including Protess’ eventual resignation) still make this a worthwhile examination of a narrative that actually may have been too good to be true.
- 60The DissolveScott TobiasThe DissolveScott TobiasAs a loaded summary of an important, disquieting chapter in Illinois legal history, A Murder In The Park gets the blood boiling, and suggests a justice system open to manipulation by bad actors.