The Thin Blue Line

Before being assigned to view this film, I knew this documentary’s legendary reputation and I had heard of Errol Morris, but other than those factors, I was completely unfamiliar with the contents or context of the film. Watching this film without any further context does a disservice to understanding why the documentary is so respected. Since I have previously encountered “true crime” documentaries like this before, The Thin Blue Line seemed familiar, even though in actuality, the film was revolutionary for its time. Understanding the documentary’s impact and influence on true crime storytelling and its real-world implications, my appreciation for the film only grew the more I knew about and sat with it. 

One of the main themes weaved throughout the documentary is an examination of justice through the critique of eyewitness testimonies. The filmmaker Errol Morris pulls no punches when sharing his point of view even though he never says a word until the final tape-recorded interview plays. Morris shares his pointed perspective by providing what he believes truly happened on the night of the murder. All the interviews are aimed to paint a specific picture to create the narrative that the incarcerated man was innocent to highlight and demonstrate the United States judicial system and its failure. 

A key filmmaking style that makes this documentary stand out is the storytelling being entirely told by interviewees. As a viewer, we gain all of our information from the interviews, creating a “he said, she said” narrative on what happened on that fateful night in Dallas. The juxtaposition of perspectives puts the viewer into the detective role, having to parse through what they believe to be fact or fiction. This stylistic choice puts the viewer in the jury chair, where we are forced to decide the innocence or guilt of the main figures of the film. We hear facts told to us, but they are from people with specific biases, and we never see anything told to us from an objective framework. 

This documentary is known for its reenactments, which is an aspect of documentary filmmaking I feel strongly about. In my personal opinion, I despise documentary reenactments. There is no greater way for a documentarian to show their bias and perspective on the contents of the story they are telling than to recreate real-life events through reenactments. There is an inherent bias to crafting a false make-believe version of reality on film for documentary. That being said, I believe the film’s reenactments work. With each biased perspective from eyewitnesses, officers, or prosecutors, the events changed in the reenactments. By creating all of these alternate realities, Morris highlights the failures of the justice system and demonstrates how unreliable eyewitness testimony is, specifically in this case where a man was almost put to death. 

The Thin Blue Line is nearly impossible to watch without seeing the copycats that have been heavily influenced by it beforehand. That being said, I have complete respect for the film as a whole, as I understand that it is revolutionary documentary filmmaking and has had a societal impact since it led to the freedom of an innocent man. Due to its engaging themes and strong filmmaking style, I give this film a thumbs up.