High Risk Offender 1998
Distributed by First Run/Icarus Films, 32 Court St., 21st Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201; 800-876-1710
Produced by Barry Greenwald, Inc. with the National Film Board of Canada and TVOntario
Directed by Barry Greenwald
VHS, color, 58 min.
High School - Adult
Law, Sociology, Psychology, Social Work, Criminal Justice
Date Entered: 11/09/2018
Reviewed by Melinda Davis, College of Law Library, University of TennesseeA camera follows seven men on parole, six of whom are considered at high risk to re-offend, for ten months. Ten months of curfew checks, drug tests, vocational counseling, life skills training, psychological therapy, promises and new starts -- ten months of missed curfews, failed drug tests, skipped classes, remorse, denials, excuses, broken promises, relapses, gamesmanship and a few scattered and tenuous victories. Filmmaker Greenwald lets the parolees and the counselors tell their stories; there is no narration other than an occasional caption to bring the viewer up-to-date. This is a powerful documentary, unembellished, unsentimental, yet revealing the unique problems and situation of each man. Some struggle with mental and emotional problems; some with addiction and related problems; some with both; one goes through the motions while calculating how to insure he's sent back to the prison of his choice; one, an investment counselor convicted of multi-million dollar fraud, controls his meetings with the parole officer. At the end of the film, some parolees are already back in prison and the future of the rest remains uncertain. Greenwald offers no analysis or solutions; however, the conclusion is inescapable -- there is no easy answer, no single answer, perhaps no answer at all.
Highly recommended for college level collections in criminal justice, law, sociology, psychology, social work, clinical programs.