TIME: The Best Piece of Incarceration Media I’ve Seen

Skyler Johnson ‘22 / Emertainment Monthly Comics Editor

Because of the death of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, America is painfully aware now more than ever of its problems with race. Amazon’s upcoming documentary, Time, tells a familiar tale as a result. We follow Fox Rich (born Sibil Fox), whose husband has been incarcerated for twenty years, and her fight to get him out of prison.

Shot in black and white, this film is a captivating experience. You see years of footage documenting Fox’s life, from near the beginning of Rob’s incarceration, to where filming ends in 2018. 

A lot of media these days focuses on incarceration, from movies, to TV shows, to documentaries, but TIME is the most powerful out of all of them at capturing every emotion that stems from the experience. You see the joy in her eyes when you hear her speak to her husband on the phone. You see her anxiety and frustration whenever she has to call about his sentence. And, you see her despair whenever she talks about them not being together.

You also get a glimpse into the life of a fascinating woman. Fox is more than just the wife of an incarcerated person. The film shows all of the complexities of her character. It shows her strength as a mother, her power as a speaker, and her wonderful personality, which makes it worth the watch by itself. 

There was no narration, which was both a benefit and a detriment. There was no pausing between shots to give unnecessary details about time and place that didn’t add to the plot. However, sometimes it was confusing as to what was taking place when. 

Another flaw was that the documentary tended to meander at times. There were a lot of powerful scenes, but a lot of them didn’t go together all the time, and felt less like a story was being told, and more like a bunch of scenes fitting together around a person. It’s important to note that these scenes can be incredible. For example, one where she’s talking about asking forgiveness for the crime she committed. For the most part, however, there was a clear storyline overall which shined through.

The ending was incredible, and acted as a perfect climax. I won’t spoil anything for you, but it almost made me cry. 

This touching and powerful documentary, available on Amazon Prime October 16th, is definitely worth the watch.