interesting but didn't tell me anything I didn't guess about prison life..
I think you're right in a sense, but I did think he did a brilliant job (as he always does) of showing that those outside of what we would consider 'normal' - even murderers and rapists - have identifiable human qualities; he gave them a voice, and I think he's got to be applauded for that.
There were quite a few inmates in there who were more articulate than you'd expect, David Silva for one. There was one point when he began to talk about himself in third person - "they said he'd sexually assaulted her with a pistol," - and I did wonder whether this was an attempt at disassociating with some of the more henious crimes he'd committed. But at the end he said he'd happily hold his hands up and serve his time for the crimes he had committed, but that he had been unfairly accused of others. The other interviews were really interesting as well, especially when he was talking to Chris, the gay guy, who said that he over-emphasised his sexuality in order that he be considered a "woman", which in turn led to different treatment.
I found it interesting as well how as his time in there progressed, he became less concerned with what they were there for, and more concerned with where they fitted within the prison "society."
Another quality piece of factual entertainment from Mr. Theroux. If only there was more like it.
I thought it was fair shit compared to other things he has done.
But he didn't have much scope did he? Spacially or otherwise. Considering he was constrained by where he could and couldn't go, what he could ask and couldn't ask (he only seemed to cut loose at the end when asking about the drug situation), and by the fact he could only utilise a one camera set up, I think he did a good job. The beauty of it was the insight it gave - in true Griersonian tradition - into an alien social situation.
