Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Benas Mcloughlin Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Jemima It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Etherdave Excellent, gripping Made-For-TV story of the abductions and murders of African-American children, adolescents, and adults in Atlanta in the early 80's, and the sensational trial of the one man brought to justice for these crimes. The murders and trial polarized the communities of Atlanta and its environs, and the TV Movie re-creates this stunningly well in its deliberately ambiguous portrayal of suspect Wayne Williams, the evidence against him, and the issues of presenting a capital case based almost solely on circumstantial evidence. Just as the case inspires controversy up to this day, so does this movie.Calvin Levels has Wayne Williams down pat in this production - alternately charming, charismatic, strange, and menacing - and creates a web of confused desires and motives that deliberately leaves audiences guessing - what REALLY happened on that bridge? Co-stars Morgan Freeman, Jason Robards, Rip Torn and Gloria Foster provide equally interesting performances throughout. While some viewers, especially those living in the Atlanta communities affected by these events, may be dismayed or even angered by the portrayal of the law-enforcement authorities attempting to make sense of this case, their issue is more with the deliberate manner in which no real sides are taken by the producers of this film. If in more recent decades the historic portrayal of White apathy towards crimes committed on Blacks is universally deemed insulting or unacceptable, then perhaps some progress has been made after all.

goddessnoir I saw this movie as a young girl in the mid eighties and needless to say, especially being a young black child, it scared me. I just wanted to comment on what the previous commenter said. Though I am in no way claiming Wayne Williams is innocent, the murders and disappearances didn't stop with Williams' conviction as he stated, they actually continued until early '83 sparking talk that he may not have actually been the killer.The evidence used to convict him was flimsy at best and there were actually over 100 children and young adults declared missing and or found dead. Williams was described as a "very weird" individual and did he commit these murders? Who knows but, the majority of evidence did not point towards him, there were over 100 children and young adults killed about 30 of them AFTER he was in jail.

ericcody The Atlanta Child Murders, a 1985 CBS mini series of the week is a good movie, but not an accurate portrayal of the political establishment of this still growing city. Former Mayor Andrew Young tried to ban this movie from airing the city of Atlanta and the surrounding counties. I am a resident of Decatur, GA 10 miles outside of Atlanta. I was a seven year old boy when the first of 27 bodies of young Black teenage boys and two Black girls were found in 1979.As of this writing Dekalb County Police Chief Graham just five days ago announced that he has reopened the cases of five murders of Black teenage boys that was on the original list of the murdered children. Chief Graham believes Wayne Williams could not have committed these murders. The Atlanta Child Murders screenplay was written by Abby Mann. Mann was a strong supporter along with writer James Baldwin and Civil Rights attorney William Kunstler of Wayne Williams innocence. The Atlanta Child Murders film captures masterfully the fear and outrage that gripped the city (Atlanta) that eventually hosted the 1996 Olympics Summer Games. Mann attempted not to offend the politicians such as Former Governor Busby and Former Mayor Maynard Jackson whom were both in office at the time of the child murders and whom had the most to lose politically if these murders was not quickly solved. In my opinion Wayne Williams did not commit all of these murders. He would have had to been Superman to get around the city to commit all of these murders in the time frame the authorities was finding bodies. Wayne Williams was only convicted of killing two men who was considered the last victims of the list.I give this movie ***stars. Good, but not excellent. This movie is not on DVD.

dtucker86 This was a very gripping and well-made tv film about the real life serial murder case that rocked Atlanta in the early 1980's. A deranged killer held the whole city in the icy grip of fear like the Son of Sam did in New York. This film is like Dragnet in its no-nonsense telling of the murders and the horror that rocked a nation. It has an unusually distinguished cast that all give fine performances. Morgan Freeman, Rip Torn, Jason Robards and Andrew Robinson (who was the killer in Dirty Harry). However, this film falls into an all familiar Hollywood liberal trap after Wayne Williams arrest and its depiction of his trial. It tries to convince you that Wayne Williams was like an innocent little boy who was railroaded and put away. It tries to convince you that he was innocent. To this day, he is appealing his sentence. I want to tell all of you something right here and now. WAYNE WILLIAMS IS WHERE HE BELONGS!!!HE IS THE ATLANTA CHILD KILLER!!!!HE DID IT CASE CLOSED!!!There is a brilliant book that I read recently called Mindhunter by John Douglas who is a retired FBI Agent. Mister Douglas was a pioneer in profiling of serial killers, creating a psychological profile of the monsters who deal in mass murder. He helped the prosecution in the trial of Wayne Williams. First of all, Williams fit the profile of the Atlanta killer like a glove. He was a police buff who tried to get himself involved in the investigation. These sick guys subconsciously want to get caught you know. There were hair and fibers found in his automobile that matched the victims exactly. I mean people, if there is that kind of evidence against you THAT IS IT!!!I will tell you something else from Wayne William's trial that is not generally well known. PLEASE PASS IT ON!!!John Douglas conferred with the prosecutor before he cross examined Williams and he told him how to do it. He said to hit him hard and stand close to him. The prosecutor followed this strategy and at one point, he said to Williams "What was it like when you wrapped your hands around their throats Wayne? What was it like? Did you panic?" Before he could catch himself, Williams stammered out "NO". Did you get this folks? HE CONFESSED ON THE STAND THAT HE DID IT!!!!Then Williams went as and started screaming at the prosecutor. The jury couldn't believe it! They said afterwards that was the turning point. Wayne Williams made a full confession as far as I am concerned. The bastard did it and he is lucky to have escaped with a life sentence CASE CLOSED!!!!However, this is a fine film. Jason Robards gives a fine performance as the defense attorney. He almost reminds me of Clarence Darrow. He was a hero in real life as well. He was in the Pearl Harbor attack and won the Navy Cross for bravery. God bless you Mister Robards and sleep well.