Evolution of a Criminal Airs on PBS

In his debut documentary Evolution of a Criminal, Texas filmmaker Darius Clark Monroe weaves together autobiography and atonement, dramatic reenactments and talking head interviews. It airs tonight on PBS’ Independent Lens.

Jordan Smith reviewed the film for the Chronicle when it debuted at the 2014 South by Southwest Film Festival. Here’s an excerpt:

“Darius Clark Monroe was a good boy who did a bad thing. At 16, he was a junior in high school, a straight-A student taking advanced placement classes, popular, well-liked by teachers, and deeply connected to his immediate and extended family.

“And then he robbed a bank.

“How Monroe's life took a hard right turn, and what he's done to atone for that sin, is the subject of this moving film – a remarkably honest autobiography of a bad choice and its aftermath, an insightful study in cause and effect.

"Indeed, Monroe's is also a story about redemption and second-chances. His unblinking analysis of his decision to rob the bank – an ill-conceived plan concocted by an adolescent mind – is heartbreaking, but also inspiring. It is clear that he understands deeply the ripple effects that his actions have had, not only on his own life, but on the lives of his family members and, importantly, of his victims – the seven people inside the bank the day he burst in with a friend, wielding a shotgun and carrying a black gym bag.

“All too often, many of us look at individuals who commit crimes as "the other," people about whom we make snap judgments and for whom we have little sympathy. What Monroe is able to achieve with this film, in part, is to demonstrate that holding so narrow a view does a disservice to us all, and it discounts the reality that time and pressure can lead any of us to a bad decision – and that that same combination of elements can also reveal a diamond.”

An Austin Film Society grant recipient and nominee for the prestigious Independent Spirit “Truer Than Fiction” Award, Evolution of a Criminal airs locally tonight (1/12), 9pm, on KLRU.