Film review
Louis Theroux: A Place for Paedophiles 2009
Directed by Emma Cooper59 minDocumentary · TV Movie
Louis has gained access to Coalinga Mental Hospital in California, which houses more than 500 of the most disturbed criminals in America, convicted paedophiles. Most have already served lengthy prison sentences, but have been deemed unsafe for release. Instead, they have been sent here for an indefinite time. Spending time with those undergoing treatment, Louis wrestles with whether he can ever allow himself to believe men whose whole history is defined by deception and deceit.
Watched 20 October 2022
For my 999th log on Letterboxd I decided to watch my first Louis Theroux documentary, which is something I’ve been meaning to do for a while. I chose a bit of a disturbing one for the first film, but I get the impression most of his films are disturbing.
This was quite interesting, he interviews lot of people who seem completely normal, but are one of the most hated groups of people in the world. I prefer documentaries that focus on people rather than stories, and this just is just a bunch of messed up people having conversations with Louis about their crimes. It covers topics of guilt and recovery, posing the question of whether or not these people deserve another shot at life after the crimes they have committed, or if they should be locked away forever to keep people safe.
It was a hard to watch but interesting documentary, I really like Louis Theroux which is why I thought his film deserved to be my 999th film, I am making a documentary for uni and want it to be in this style as I think it is such a great type of documentary filmmaking. Louis also is so good at asking the right questions, which is one of the reasons this works so well.
Exited to watch my next Louis Theroux doc, and low key exited for his film on KSI.
Thanks Luke for the recommendation.
7.6/10
