Free Lisl: Fear & Loathing in Denver

Late gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson is the real hero of Wayne Ewing's documentary Free Lisl, which is about the struggle to exonerate Lisl Auman, a young Denver woman sentenced to life without parole for killing a police officer (who was actually murdered by a man Lisl had just met while handcuffed in the back of a police car). Auman contacted Thompson in 2001, asking for his help in overturning the verdict or securing a new trial, and he took up the case in typically histrionic fashion, enlisting a small army of celebrity supporters and lawyers in the cause, while also using his own fame—and literary talent—to bring her situation to the attention of the media. Ewing effectively combines newsreel footage and interview material to reconstruct both the circumstances surrounding the killing and the mood of official and public hysteria that marked the original trial, while also capturing the outrage that Thompson cultivated among activists and the surprising degree of organizational ability he demonstrated in leading what would become his last great crusade (Thompson committed suicide two weeks before a resolution was reached). Viewers may disagree about what constitutes justice in this case, but it's hard not to admire Thompson's zeal (though he was obviously not in the best of health) as he mounted what was, after all, another of his famous fights against the establishment. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)