The Alabama Solution does a great job of shining a spotlight on the politicians, the media, and the public. After all, this is a system we created, full of an extraordinary number of people turning a blind eye, or worse, even celebrating in the corruption and brutality. And while Alabama may be the worst offender, the film highlights dysfunction in a wide variety of states. This isn’t just an Alabama problem; it is an American problem.
“The filmmakers deserve every award they can be given for creating a blockbuster documentary that may have been harder to produce than any in history.”
The filmmakers deserve every award they can be given for creating a blockbuster documentary that may have been harder to produce than any in history. Jarecki was nominated for an Oscar in 2004 for Capturing the Friedmans. And his Emmy-nominated work on the docuseries The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst led to Durst’s arrest for murder. Kaufman was also nominated as a producer on that series, and their work here has deservedly received an Oscar nomination for best documentary feature. The two share a writing credit with Page Marsella, who deserves a massive share of the credit for editing the film. The team gathered much more footage than they could cram into a two-hour doc, but the clips they selected told a highly impactful story, where every frame seemed essential, heightened by the life-or-death stakes
But the real heroes of The Alabama Solution are the prisoners who risked their lives to bring to light the injustices they are witnessing. I pointed out Raoul Poole, Robert Earl Council, and Melvin Ray, but there are many more. Some have been put into solitary confinement for years at a time for speaking out. Some have been savagely beaten to near-death and others have been murdered. This is the kind of heroism that is nearly incomprehensible — when you face grievous injury and possible death, but you stand up and do the right thing anyway. So while it may be hard to watch the injustice and inhumanity, the novel filmmaking and inspiring subjects make this a deeply human and moving story. It is one of the best films of the year.
The Alabama Solution screened at the 2026 Santa Barbara International Film Festival. It is streaming on HBO Max and is nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film for the 2026 Academy Awards.
"…a deeply human and moving story."
