Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer - Movie Review

First, a little bit of housekeeping. I am not going to type Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer every time I reference this film. I'm not sure who crafted that title, but it's a bit verbose. For the sake of brevity, I am merely going to use Gosnell going forward. I'm pretty sure you will appreciate the truncated title as much as I appreciate not having to shove all that into every reference.

In 2013, the world was shocked when word began trickling out about a trial in Philadelphia involving an abortion doctor. The doctor, Kermit Gosnell (Earl Billings), operated a clinic for thirty years in deplorable conditions. The trial was largely ignored by the media because of the polarized nature of abortion, regardless of the sickening and illegal practices Gosnell engaged in. It took a blogger, Molly Mulaney (Cyrina Fiallo), to draw national attention to the trial. What started as a drug investigation involving Philadelphia PD, DEA and FBI resulted in the disturbing discovery of the deplorable conditions in Gosnell's clinic. Conditions that resulted in one adult death and the revelation that Gosnell was inducing labor and killing the babies after a live birth.

Gosnell relates the story of the trial through the evidence and testimony given a trial. The film attempts to accurately recreate details of the investigation without sensationalizing the story as so many "based on a true story" films tend to do. This film does not require any sensationalizing. Yes, Gosnell played the piano while investigators executed a search warrant on his filthy home. Yes, his house and clinic were populated by cats which no one seemed inclined to clean up after. Yes, his basement was infested with fleas. Yes, teenagers were administering drugs and anesthesia. Yes, bags of body parts littered the clinic. The screenplay was constructed from the book Gosnell written by Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney with the assistance of Andrew Klavan. The story is rooted firmly in the evidence, making it that much more disturbing. The story is constructed nicely, starting with a local investigator tracking events through the trial and conviction. The linear story effectively tied together major themes with a narrative arc that finds its full effect in a courtroom revelation that holds genuine power over the audience. While the dialogue wasn't always crisp, the story itself held this film together.

The story centers on a Philadelphia detective, James Wood (Dean Cain). I didn't love Cain's performance. Of all the actors, his lead role was the least effective to me. He was likable, but he added an element of hokey to the story. This is a powerful story. The cast was almost secondary, but I would have preferred a different lead. Nick Searcy was powerful and effective as Gosnell's attorney, Mike Cohan. He delivered a couple of the best scenes in the film. Sarah Jane Morris was solid as the ADA prosecuting Gosnell, Alexis McGuire. Second to Searcy's performance, not by much, was Earl Billings as Kermit Gosnell. Billings captured the bizarre nature of Gosnell's behavior. There were some documented events (like the piano playing scene) which demonstrated Gosnell's disconnection from the gravity of his situation. Billings effectively captured those odd idiosyncrasies.

Gosnell was surprisingly rated PG-13. The topic is sensitive and some of the material graphic. The film never shows the central piece of evidence in the case against Gosnell. It is apparent that it was far too graphic to show (they refer viewers to the gosnellmovie URL for anyone who wants to see it...I took a pass on that). Abortion is an explosive, divisive issue that generally has people talking past each other and no one listening. The film handles that topic carefully, as it was handled in the actual case. There is not much in the way of political dialogue in the film, other than references to the sensitivity of the issue. The subject is likely to evoke questions from younger viewers. This is one time I think I will go with the MPAA and suggest thirteen as a good starting point. The film has a run time of one hour, 33 minutes.

I hope the subject matter of this film won't keep people from watching it. I know there are people who are so wholly sold to their political agendas that they are incapable of balanced thought on an issue. But this is not a film about the abortion debate. It is a film about a brutal doctor who engaged in practices that are inconceivable to me. He was a butcher. I don't want to ruin the film by going into any more detail that I have gone on the specifics, which are better delivered visually, anyway. But this film has value. It is shocking and poignant. While I didn't love the lead character, the performances were solid enough to carry this disturbing film. It is interesting we are so close to Halloween. This film was a real life horror story. 8/10.

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