Rent Murder on a Sunday Morning (2001)
3.9 of 5 from 54 ratings
1h 40min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
In May 2000, 65-year-old Mary Ann Stephens was shot to death outside a motel room in Jacksonville, Florida. A few hours later, Brenton Butler, a 15 year old black male, is arrested walking down a nearby street. Mr. Stephens identifies him. Butler signs a confession. Everyone involved with the case, from investigators to journalists, are ready to condemn Butler. Only one man, Butler's attorney, seems willing to question the charge levelled against his client. Patrick McGuiness. A dazzling and magnetic presence of Hollywood proportions, McGuiness reopens the inquiry, and in a dramatic sequence of events, he and his team discover a slew of shocking and troubling elements about the case. Did Brenton write his own confession? Where is the concrete evidence? And most importantly, could the police be lying? Murder On A Sunday Morning is one of the most poignant and powerful film of the last decade, this gripping, edge-of-your-seat whodunit catapulted to the top of "must see" lists everywhere when it emerged to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Shocking not only because of the minimal amount of evidence deemed sufficient to bring the case to trial, but because of the way a young man was automatically assumed to be guilty due to the colour of his skin. The result is a powerful examination of rough justice and institutionalised racism in contemporary America. - Actors:
- Brenton Butler, Patrick McGuiness, Mary Ann Stephens, James Williams, Ann Finnell, Michael Glover, Dwayne Darnell
- Directors:
- Jean-Xavier de Lestrade
- Producers:
- Yves Jeanneau
- Others:
- Denis Poncet
- Aka:
- Un Coupable Ideal
- Studio:
- Artefact Films
- Genres:
- Documentary
- Countries:
- France
- Awards:
