The Fear of 13

Director David Sington's documentary allows longtime death-row inmate Nick Yarris to skillfully recount his own unique history of endurance and redemption in a Pennsylvania state prison with the clarity and dramatic pacing of a gifted storyteller. Delivering a refreshing minimum of dramatic re-enactment and only one talking head (i.e., Yarris), The Fear of 13 makes the most of one man's real-life Shawshank Redemption-type story. In fact, one of the few directorial manipulations here is that the brain-twisting intricacies of the “crime” that landed Yarris on death row are withheld until later in the movie, allowing viewers to first become familiar with Yarris and his central plight—his negotiations for an expedited execution date—and learn how and why he was driven to extremes. But while this is a stranger-than-fiction tale that has more turns than most big-budget fictional thrillers, there's also an inspirational self-discovery/existential side to Yarris's confessional account that is just as riveting. The chronicle of how Yarris came to serve a life-plus-105-year-sentence is every bit as incredible as the means by which that brutal term is eventually challenged. Highly recommended. (M. Sandlin)