Currently in theaters from Roadside Attractions is the biographical drama Trial by Fire starring Jack O’Connell (Unbroken) and Laura Dern (Big Little Lies) based on the true story of the controversial Texas arson trial of Cameron Todd Willingham.
The film, written by Academy Award winner Geoffrey S. Fletcher (Precious), is based on the New Yorker article of the same name by David Grann, tells tragic and controversial story of Cameron Todd Willingham (O’Connell), who was executed in Texas for killing his three children after scientific evidence and expert testimony that bolstered his claims of innocence were suppressed. While awaiting his execution on death row, Willingham begins receiving frequent visits from Elizabeth Gilbert (Dern), a Houstonian mother of two who takes notice of his case and begins unraveling the flaws from his trial, desperately fighting to save his life, but ultimately failing.
Directed by Edward Zwick (Glory, The Last Samurai,Blood Diamond),the film will also star Emily Meade (The Deuce), Jeff Perry (Scandal) and Jade Pettyjohn (School of Rock).
This is Fletcher’s first big screen film since he made his directorial debut with Violet & Daisy, which was one of James Gandolfini’s last film roles.
Blackfilm.com spoke exclusively about his involvement with this film.
How did get involved with this project?
Geoffrey Fletcher: Well, one day I get a call from agent, who told me about the project and who was involved and I was immediately intrigued. I’ve admired Ed Zwick’s work for many years and certainly a story about injustice was fascinating to me.
When you do a story based on real-life, how much research goes into before you start writing?
Geoffrey Fletcher: A fair amount. It started with the late David Grann’s 2009 article in the New Yorker. As a writer, I admired David’s ability to convey the facts and investigation of the elements. Other than that, the story kept developing. New information kept coming out after the article and Elizabeth Gilbert, who fought tirelessly for him, had stories of her own. So, you collect a lot of information from various places. I think, when telling any story, you also want to really inject some of yourself into it. If your sensibilities are aligned and mine are with this story, it immediately happened organically. Also, Ed Zwick is very passionate about this subject, and so is the foundation started by Alex Soros, who is also passionate and very involved with the criminal justice reform.
How did Ed want you to put this together when we know what the outcome was of the case?
Geoffrey Fletcher: In working with Ed, we seem to have a shorthand relationship very early and that probably came from the fact this injustice was alarming and the number of people that have been executed and a disproportionate number of poor people that are executed are alarming. There are stories that are inspiring, it’s important to show the worst consequences of an unfair system.
Were the both of you also looking to show the humanity of Cameron Willingham?
Geoffrey Fletcher: I liked the fact that we would state that Todd wasn’t always a flawed man because so many times you hear about bad things happening to people, whether someone dies at the hand of a police officer and afterwards, they always say, “Well, he was no angel.” That’s not right. No one should be judge, jury and executioner.
What do you think will get people to come out and see this film?
Geoffrey Fletcher: I love to escape with films as much as the next person. I was a comic book fan, geek, before it became fashionable but I do believe this art form is also extraordinarily compelling. It’s covering a true story that affects us all. It’s not only about an important topic but it has such incredible elements that you typically only find in this type of film. Laura Dern and Jack O’Connell give soulful performances. Starting with Laura, she captured Elizabeth’s intelligence, positivity perfectly. Just like the woman that she’s playing, both bring in an honest conviction and generosity to their work. Jack O’Connell is playing a character who suffered an incredible injustice and we could have downplayed his flaws but we wanted to show his complexity, which makes his transformation all the more powerful. Then you have this great journey. A lot of times when you watch the evening news, you look at a photo of someone’s mug shot, you assume that the person is guilty. I wanted the have the idea that when you see someone and you make this snap judgement, and then you find out more. I believe the film asks us questions that can affect us as a country.
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