Director MATT WALDECK (US 2022) 104 min
Raw and revealing, Lovely Jackson recounts the story –– in his own voice –– of Rickey Jackson, an innocent Ohio man who spent 39 years in prison on the basis of coerced testimony. Eschewing the usual talking-heads tableau of most true-crime docs, director Matt Waldeck treats this story with an eye for introspection. Co-written by Waldeck and Jackson himself, the film offers a window into the broken process that led to Jackson’s conviction at age 18 and decades of clinging to the truth of innocence until his exoneration. Black-and-white re-enactments and dream sequences blend with Jackson’s own voice to give viewers a passenger seat on his wrenching but ultimately miraculous journey. This is an all too familiar story, but told in an unfamiliar form, with Waldeck’s heartfelt and sensitive approach making it a standout.