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Trial by Fire

BiographyDrama

The tragic and controversial story of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was sentenced to death in Texas for killing his three children even after scientific evidence and expert testimony bolstered his claims of innocence.

Year

2019

Duration

2h 7m

IMDb

7.1

Hero Poster

Cast

Edward Zwick

Director

Jack O'Connell

Todd

Laura Dern

Elizabeth

Cast

Edward Zwick

Director

Jack O'Connell

Todd

Laura Dern

Elizabeth

Emily Meade

Stacy

Chris Coy

Daniels

Jeff Perry

Hurst

McKinley Belcher III

Ponchai

David Wilson Barnes

Reaves

Darren Pettie

Horton

Blake Scott Lewis

Johnny Webb

Jade Pettyjohn

Julie

Noah Lomax

Andrew

Jason Douglas

Jackson

Carlos Gómez

Vasquez

Anthony Reynolds

Fogg

Katie McClellan

Margaret

LL

Lena Levings

Emily

Catherine Carlen

Abigail

Wayne Pére

George

Geoffrey Fletcher

Writer

David Grann

Writer

Trailer

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Comments

10 Comments

3nitySep 16, 2025

Never watched a movie that made me cry like this one I loved the movie

Omowunmi AroleFeb 25, 2025

Rahil liyaMar 19, 2024

What a story and what a great performance by the cast. Some may say since the story is so controversial and that really add value to the movie would rather say cast, including the minor characters, have made justice to the roles they have been given to play. "No more neither less" a well-balanced movie done by a great team

36 🐵𝗹 𝗺 𝗳 𝗿 𝘄 𝗲 7Mar 19, 2024

It's a good movie, well worth watching, but facts do sort of spoil it. Funny thing is this film seems to say that prison or death row is truly reformative. Our hero / villain starts off as an ugly, mean, vicious redneck white trash, who is transformed into attractive, handsome good old country boy. The brutal, sadistic prison guards become caring, sensitive wardens, what better advert for incarceration. Then a basic fact, if a propellant is found that's the primary cause, not the reactions causing flash. Many would be heroes have actually found themselves in the same situation and had to face the consequences, don't play with fire.

@bhavu9892Mar 19, 2024

Really would struggle to fault this film in any way and in all honesty was surprised not to see a higher score. An eye opening but also eye watering tale which pulls on one's emotions for the duration. Beautifully crafted and written, with Jack O'Connell setting the pace from the word go. His best performance in my opinion since Eden Lake, another great actor making his presence known with what could have been a risky role to execute (no pun). Pleased to say he was on par with the best of them. Bravo!

Trill_peaceMar 19, 2024

Credit should go to the principal actors for amazing performances. Only a heart of stone could be unmoved. Some of the down votes are motivated by not wanting to see the death penalty questioned, not the actors and film maker's skill. TBF is the all too true story of an innocent man sent to death for a faulty heater causing a fire in his home that killed his three children. As in most death penalty cases, the man was poor, barely educated, and barely defended by a public defender with a high case load who just wanted to get the case out of the way. As awful as the film shows Texas justice to be, it was even worse in real life: 1. He was falsely smeared as a devil worshipper not based on a pentagram tattoo, but for having an Iron Maiden poster and Led Zeppelin albums. A quarter of all the teen boys in the 70s and 80s would be guilty by that silly standard. 2. Texas Governor Rick Perry replaced three members of the Board of Pardons and Paroles to prevent the case getting a fair hearing. He wanted an execution to look tough in the upcoming election, not an exoneration showing Texas's legal system to be corrupt and lazy. 3. The jailhouse informant also suffered from bipolar disorder and the medication to treat it making him unreliable, and the prosecutor knew it. Like Dead Man Walking, the film is hard to watch. It will leave you shaken and unable to think of much else for awhile after viewing.

flopipopMar 19, 2024

Trial by Fire is a dramatic (fictionalized) account of the Cameron Todd Willingham case -- notorious in Texas death penalty debates -- in which he is convicted and sentenced to death for deliberately setting the fire that killed his three young children. The film is obviously anti death penalty and the makers are entitled to that opinion, which many share. That aside, when Yankees "do" Texas they always get it wrong, usually beginning with the accents which they somehow assume are "southern," and this movie is no exception. That they didn't know Texas culture at all, though, became apparent early on, when Texas Rangers/law enforcement officers interrogate Todd Willingham. One of the officers' hat is on the table -- to indicate we're in Texas, don't you know? -- and it's brim down. No one who wears a Stetson places his hat like that, but always upside down, with the brim up, to protect its shape. From that moment on, it was obvious we were going to see Texas through unknowing eyes. There are other problems. too. The portrayal of Willingham at trial is unrealistic. .His own attorney, convinced of his guilt, presented no real defense. But that's just part of it; even the worst attorney would have insisted he cut his hair, sit up straight in his chair at the defense table, and not blurt out protests to the judge or the witnesses. Then there's the Texas State prison guard's brutality (i.e. Shawshank Redemption) and the idea that Willingham's "personal" guard is actually involved in executions (i.e. The Green Mile). It's all ridiculous. But Laura Dern, as a woman who becomes involved in Willingham's case, is excellent and some other performances are noteworthy, with the exception of the actor playing Willingham, who made his character so unlikeable that it was difficult to feel sympathy for him, even when we're supposed to. And the transformation, including a haircut, is neither explained nor credible; it's just a heavy handed amateurish way to indicate to us, the audience, that Willingham is deserving of the help Dern's character tries to provide. That Willingham was almost certainly innocent and that the prosecutor was guilty of malfeasance appears to be a given, and if true, this is the story of tragedy piled on top of tragedy. Trial by Fire purports to address that, but its agenda -- protesting the death penalty -- and failure to get basic Texas culture right, weakens the effort. Watch it if you're curious, or for Dern's performance.

kwadwosheldonfanpageMar 19, 2024

Such a sad story. And a frustrating one too. I'm not spoiling anything by saying an innocent man was executed for a crime he didn't commit as it states as such in the film explanation. Before anyone has an issue, it'd be like me saying the ship sinks in Titanic.... Brilliant acting throughout and excruciating to see how people ignore the truth right in front of their faces. Makes you lose all faith in the "justice system". It says a lot that he has been proven innocent since but if the governed had just read the letter and stopped what was wrong with everything, a decent man would have lived his life out with pain and hurt but justice that he deserved and required to get over such an horrific incident. I do reflect a lot on films that make me sad and think about you them maybe far too much but in this case, being true, it really does make you think how fickle life and some peoples opinions are, especially when you hear the real life governor talking at the end and people whooping and cheering. Wow. And the US is supposed to be civilised?

haddy GibbaMar 19, 2024

This was hard to watch because you know full well Texas executed a innocent man. They say justice is blind in Texas its deaf blind and dumb. Its maddening to watch because you wonder how people could be soooooo blind. Don't listen to the haters who don't like political movies. If you want a movie that's let's you decide. This is it.

👑Sabin shrestha👑Mar 19, 2024

The acting is very good in this film, and there are a few scenes that are really great by themselves, but the sum of the parts does not hold up quite so well. I think the problem is that the story is one we've seen over and over again and the characters feel somewhat flat, at least to a certain degree. Do not recommend.