The Exonerated

9 p.m., Thurs, Jan 27
Court TV

Court TV's made-for-television film "The Exonerated" uses an unusual format for the small screen and gains power from it. Based on the award-winning off-Broadway play of the same name, the story recounts first-person narratives of six innocent people who spent years on death row before being set free.

This unique series of stories is a bit heavy-handed and manipulative, but the intense focus we get on the faces of the actors playing these six people makes us pay close attention to their stories. Each of the six is played by a well-known actor, so we find ourselves mesmerized by performances by (or, the camera focused on) Susan Sarandon, Danny Glover, Aidan Quinn, Brian Dennehy and Delroy Lindo. Each actor recounts, in extreme close-up, the events that led to his or her arrest.

More chilling, however, is the back story for each of these real people, the way the justice system failed them so that their innocence was ignored in varying ways.

But ultimately, "The Exonerated" takes up another cause: the devastation that the death penalty causes. The telecast is a political heavy hitter, not skirting around the issue, a passionate plea against the death penalty. With the camera fully engaged with each character, it's hard to turn away.