In 2002 three skinheads beat a young gay man, Francois Chenu, unconscious and threw his body into a lake, where he drowned. The killers were quickly caught and the case gained both national and international notoriety. This documentary deals with the ordeal of Francois' family, their horror, anger, grief and, ultimately, forgiveness. Beyond Hatred is a powerful, moving and thought provoking tale, though like the recent Parisian riots and films such as ‘La Haine' it highlights a nation at serious find out more...

Adam Wingard tries to re-vamp this horror success with a modicum of inventiveness and a handful of intriguing ideas. Unfortunately, despite the digital camera glitch aesthetic which almost elevates the film above average, it's remains a bog-standard 'found footage' scare fest that relies on making its audience jump. Complete with ludicrous curiosity of a group of mildly irritating teens.

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Schoolteacher John Scopes is placed under close arrest for advocating Darwin's theory of evolution to his pupils in violation of a stifling Tennessee law banning anything that 'denies the divine creation of man as taught by the Bible'. The case is taken up by a cynical newspaper-man who takes an interest when the champion of the Fundamentalists and three-time presidential candidate is named prosecutor. A fascinating and absorbing dramatisation of the famous 1925 'Monkey Trial'. find out more...

The shocking and tragic true story of Derek Bentley, hanged for a murder he didn't commit, after a trial that shamed the British justice system. Powerful and moving performances and a brilliant recreation of the 50s by the director of "The Krays" in this truly disturbing and riveting drama. find out more...

Excellent courtroom comedy starring Joe Pesci as an offbeat just-qualified lawyer, dispatched to the Deep South to defend his young cousin (and friend) from a bogus murder charge. Pesci is superb, as is Marisa Tomei, his nasal New York fiancee who's sassy performance peps up the whole thing and won her an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. find out more...

The follow-up to the astounding ‘Paradise Lost’. More and more, especially forensic, evidence comes to light that the non-existent case against the 3 is just that. Much of the film focuses on the prime alternative suspect, the step-father of one of the murdered children, a dangerously barking Church-going redneck, but the rightwing local state bureaucracy don't want to know, they've already got their man (sorry children). Damien, Jason and Jessie have matured visibly in prison, with Damien perha find out more...

TIn 1993 the naked and mutilated bodies of three 8-year-old boys where found in a shallow creek near the sleepy redneck Arkansas town of Robin Hood Hills. The ensuing police investigation soon focused on three local teens who dressed in black, had vaguely non-Christian beliefs and enjoyed heavy metal music. A rushed investigation and the pitiful court case that followed were all filmed with unprecedented access by a HBO documentary crew who came to believe that the three suspects were victims of find out more...

It's the summer of 1949 and small town barber Ed Crane feels life has past him by. His wife's infidelity would seem to compound this feeling, but Ed sees an opportunity for blackmail, and a misguided attempt to reverse his fortunes; But a dubious plan inevitably sucks Ed into a world far darker and more bereft than the one he sought to escape. The Man Who Wasn't There is yet another sublime piece of filmmaking from the Coen brothers (who seem to be working their way through every genre of cinema find out more...

Two drifters are passing through a Western town when news comes in that a local farmer has been murdered and his cattle stolen. The townspeople, joined by the drifters, form a posse to catch the perpetrators. They find three men in possession of the cattle, and are determined to see justice done on the spot. Superlative western with a timeless message, echoed in another Henry Fonda classic: 12 Angry Men. find out more...

The sufferings of a martyr, Jeanne D'Arc (1412-1431). Jeanne appears in court where Cauchon questions her and d'Estivet spits on her. She predicts her rescue, is taken to her cell, and judges forge evidence against her. In her cell, priests interrogate her and judges deny her the Mass. Threatened first in a torture chamber and then offered communion if she will recant, she refuses. At a cemetery, in front of a crowd, a priest and supporters urge her to recant; she does, and Cauchon announces find out more...