Gregarious and precocious, 12-year-old Collier Boyle had a wonderful childhood, largely due to his affectionate relationship with his mother, Noreen. After his mother is killed in 1989 and his father, John, is accused of her murder, Collier’s testimony as witness to the crime puts his father in jail. Still imprisoned more than 25 years later, John maintains his innocence. In this sensitive examination of reconciling with the past, Collier, now 38, returns to his Ohio hometown for the first time. Using footage from Collier’s court appearance and present-day visits with significant people from Collier’s life, filmmaker Barbara Kopple scrutinizes a heinous crime whose consequences still linger. Letters written between Collier and his father during this tenure are read aloud, indicating a troubling power struggle still at play. Intimate interviews between Collier and his therapist unmask the severe mental toll exacted when “the guilty” is synonymous with “Dad.”  KR

Q&A following screening