The Fear of 13

A man sits in front of the camera and begins to talk. He has been on death row for twenty three years. He has filed a petition with the court: he wants to drop his appeals and have his execution carried out. The documentary consists almost entirely of him speaking. He describes his childhood, the drugs, the arrest, the trial, the years in the block, learning to read and the letters that came from outside. As it proceeds the direction of the story changes and what was given at the start takes on another meaning. David Sington directs. It is a British production. The man speaking is Nick Yarris. Its form is a single person's account; there is no expert opinion, no archive news footage and no other side. Yarris took up reading in prison and his way of speaking comes from there; the account is built like a written text and the film does not hide that. The fear in the title is triskaidekaphobia, the fear of the number thirteen, and the detail finds its place inside the narrative. Its method is contested; using one source gives the documentary its force but leaves no means of verification. The reconstructed scenes are few and stylised. Its limit is form; the viewer holds no material with which to test what is said. Who it is for: viewers who like documentaries on the justice system and single narrator forms. Who it is not for: it rests on one source, the subject is heavy, and it is one man talking throughout.