'Gut wrenching' film on Netflix has viewers 'sobbing' over horrific true story
Topics: Netflix, Film and TV, Reviews
Niamh Shackleton
Featured Image Credit: Roadside Attractions
Topics: Netflix, Film and TV, Reviews
A movie on Netflix with an all-star cast is still moving people to tears seven years after its release.
While the streamer is great for producing its own content (we've all seen Adolescence, right?), Netflix also acquires some hidden gems from different distributors too — a great example being Lucifer.
The popular series was added to Netflix back in 2018, and people have been binge-watching it ever since, with many hailing the streaming service for 'saving' the series after it was canceled by Fox after three seasons.
And another non-Netflix project that's recently landed on the platform is Trial By Fire.
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The 2018 film dropped on Netflix last month and stars Jurassic Park and Big Little Lies favorite Laura Dern, as well star of 'underrated' Western mini-series Godless, Jack O'Connell.
The synopsis for the tear-jerking movie reads, as per Tudum: "After a fire destroyed a home in Texas and killed three children, their father was convicted of their murders and put on death row. But was he actually to blame?
"The 2018 film Trial by Fire, from director Edward Zwick (Blood Diamond), explores the true story of Cameron Todd Willingham’s alleged wrongful conviction, and the woman who fought against the Texas justice system to save his life."
In light of it being added to Netflix, people have taken to LADbible's Facebook page Netflix Bangers to rave about it.
One person hailed it a 'must-watch', as someone else said: "It was very good. Not at all what I expected."
A different Trial by Fire viewer branded it 'gut wrenching'.
READ MORE: Netflix fans are still binge-watching TV series saved by the streamer
Adding to the sadness of the movie, it's based on a true story.
Trial by Fire is based on a 1991 arson case and the trial that followed involving Cameron Todd Willingham (played by O'Connell in the film).
Willingham ultimately ended up convicted of killing his three kids and was handed a capital murder charge.
While incarcerated, Willingham became penpals with playwright Elizabeth Gilbert (Dern) who went on to campaign for her newfound friend's freedom from death row because she believed she was innocent.
Backing up people's rave reviews of the film, Trial by Fire has a 74 percent Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes.
"A well told tearjerker by a American filmmaker, Edward Zwick, who rarely gets the praise he deserves," one reviewer wrote on the site.
Someone else said it was a good movie but, because of its themes, dubbed it 'hard to watch'.