Death row inmate Nick Yarris sits in a chair, a single light brightening his face and casting starkly precise shadows. He is hyper-aware of the camera. Though this interview scene is a familiar one in documentary, what Yarris next unleashes on the audience is far from expected. While serving his time, Yarris became an autodidact, teaching himself the power of words. Putting this knowledge to full use in the film, he spins an intense soliloquy full of unbelievable fates and flourishes of philosophical beauty, blurring fact and fiction into a palpable narrative of cunning verbal acumen. Is he really innocent? Surrounded by haunting, brusque imagery and an immersive sound design, this contemporary folktale morphs into an epic, edge-of-your-seat thriller. (DK)