Alabama Snake meets with all the players in this scenario, including Darlene, Glenn, and their son Marty. Each of them has something different to say about these fateful events. Darlene claims that Glenn was trying to kill her. Glenn claims that she was mentally ill and egging him on to beat her up, and she tried to kill herself when he asked for a divorce. He also accuses her of molesting his teenage sons from his first marriage. We get some background on Glenn through interviews that Dr. Burton conducted with him in prison, as well as interviews with Glenn’s first wife, Doris. Yes, he did get convicted of attempted murder. It’s your job as a viewer to decide whether you believe him or Darlene.
I was riveted by Alabama Snake. It’s very southern. Glenn’s accent is so thick there are subtitles when he’s speaking. If you’re from the south, you won’t need them. Something else I enjoyed in this particular instance, which sometimes fails horribly, is the re-enactments of the events by actors. It lends a dramatic quality to a story that, by all accounts and purposes, sounds like it was written by Cormac McCarthy or the dearly departed William Faulkner.
“…lends a dramatic quality to a story that…sounds like it was written by Cormac McCarthy…”
There are so many layers to the onion of the case, but I personally believe that Glenn did it. He blames his arrest on the fact that he had a rough childhood and a criminal past and claims that he is in close communication with The Lord, who apparently told him that he should escape from prison in 2003. He was found in a dumpster 45 minutes later and sent back to prison. Guess that was God’s will.
I am really not doing justice to the complexities of Alabama Snake, but if I told you more of the wilder stories, you might not watch the movie, and that would be a total shame. It’s absolutely worth watching, especially for fans of southern drama. Theo Love weaves a very exciting tale out of true events. Sometimes, I am absolutely bored to tears by the execution of certain documentaries. That didn’t happen here. I will even venture to say that people who usually don’t enjoy documentaries very well may enjoy Alabama Snake. It’s your job to find out if you’re one of those people, and all you have to do is watch in on HBO, preferably sooner than later.
"…so many layers to the onion of the case, but I personally believe that Glenn did it."
