It has been well documented by a select few directors that reality is infinitely more compelling than fiction. Not to say that there's anything wrong with fiction, but knowing that the story that is about to be told is indeed fact almost unanimously eliminates the problem of "getting into" the movie because the viewer can already relate to it on a human level. Spike Lee is a bloody genius both in telling a story and telling it in such a way as to be provocative without being pretentious. 4 Little Girls cuts through all the sugar coated drivel and stilted piano music commonly associated with remembering those who have perished needlessly and gets to the heart of the matter: they perished needlessly. The style of this documentary is very intimate, using extreme close-ups at all times with those being interviewed whereas to magnify their emotions. I found this style engrossing because you can see the gears turn in these people's heads as they try to remember these girls fondly and also the tragic events that took their lives. Some of the more sympathetic (read: racist) southern lawmen try ever so subtly to paint the results of the church bombing as mere collateral damage, but a point was being made and the people who made it didn't care who suffered as a result. It is a great to see that the families of these four little girls are still strong and undeterred by the tragedy though to some the deaths are still like an open wound. Spike Lee makes the considerably wise decision of first introducing us to the girls from the recollections of their parents and loved ones and making them human first, victims later. He also lets George Wallace make an invalid-ish idiot of himself simply by letting him speak without any directorial intervention. The intimate, personal nature of this film is what makes it work on every level. Spike Lee obviously has a passion for telling stories that perhaps would have been shoved into obscurity had he not the courage to fearlessly tackle them with such passion and intensity.
Review of 4 Little Girls
