The new documentary Into the Abyss from famed filmmaker Werner Herzog is his exploration of death row inmates and the various ways people are affected by death. Ten years ago, troubled youths Michael Perry and Jason Burkett were convicted of a triple homicide in the city of Conroe, Texas. Burkett received life without parole and Perry received a death sentence — meaning he knew exactly when and where he would die. Herzog interviews both men in prison, including Perry eight days before his scheduled execution date of July 1st, 2010. Among the interviewees are family members of the victims, also the victims of tragedy and pain in their lives in other ways as well. The also incarcerated father of Burkett reveals a difficult and failed life of a broken man, and one who may find a single moment of redemption in a life otherwise filled with sorrow and pain of his own making. Guilt and innocence is vague, and indeed both Perry and Burkett accuse the other of being the actual murderer.
But the reveal, early on, that Herzog does not believe in capital punishment, somewhat colors the film — but he does not hold back from showing the pain of victims, or their desires for vengeance. In one of the more interesting interviews of the film, Herzog speaks to the former captain of the Death House where a man who once oversaw hundreds of executions eventually hit his limit. Another bizarre interview is with the wife of Burkett, who married the inmate practically sight unseen — and has mysteriously become pregnant even though conjugal visits are not permitted. The director shows us different perspectives and angles on the situation, and although his own opinion is clear, he lets people be honest with their answers.
The film uses interesting thematic choices to explore life and death, focusing on time and the transience of existence. The musical score has an interesting resonance with evocative notes inspired by Southern music. Herzog often focuses closely on faces, letting us see the emotions past the words. The trudge of horror and pain are lightened by sudden moments of levity and the bizarre, showing the different aspects of life. In the end, the morality of execution is left as a question for the audience, even while presenting an obvious opinion but not necessarily the right one.
This isn’t a feelgood sort of movie, but it does inspire emotion and thought. What is right and what is wrong about death is sometimes clear and sometimes muddled, but this is a good way to start the conversation.
Clacked by Jeremy Fogelman 
on Nov 11, 2011 @ 01:00 EST5EDT
