Heavens Fall - 6 stars out of 10

Heavens Fall - 6 stars out of 10

"Heavens Fall" is a courtroom drama that allows all of its background details to be revealed through the trial.  Rather than spending the first 25 minutes dramatizing the crime, developing the characters of the lawyers and witnesses, and gathering evidence, the duration of the film is the trial and surprisingly, it works!  You may not develop an attachment to the lawyer as you would in a film that contains heavy characer development, the the focus of this film is the trial and not the lawyers.  This is emphasized by the film ending at the end of the trial, the fate of the characters revealed by several captions on screen.  And again, I was completely okay reading the information on the screen instead of extending the film by 25 mintes to dramatize all of the after effects.  The film offers strong performances by Timothy Hutton, David Strathairn, Bill Sage, and one incredible emotional moment from Azura Skye, while the shock that this unfair court case is a true story looms over the entire duration of the film.  "Heavens Fall" provides insight into the famous Scottsboro Boys by bringing this famed court case to life and showing the bigotry in the Alabama court system of the 1930's.  I'd definitely recommend it for its strong acting performances and interesting details of the trial.