Reese Witherspoon Portrays Real-Life Grief in 'Devil's Knot'

To date, there have been four documentaries about the West Memphis Three, the three teenagers convicted of murdering three young boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, in 1993. Now, the notorious case is getting its first narrative treatment in “Devil’s Knot,” directed by Atom Egoyan (“The Sweet Hereafter,” “Where the Truth Lies”).

Our exclusive clip from the film features Pam Hobbs (Reese Witherspoon) and husband Terry Hobbs (Alessandro Nivola), the parents of Steven Branch, one of the three victims and Pam’s son from a previous marriage. The scene takes place after the murder and during the initial investigation, with Terry disapproving of his wife’s behavior during the media circus the tragedy has become, which involves waving Steven’s scarf around “like a prop.”

Their argument escalates into Pam accusing her husband of always being “too hard” on Steven and finally daring to Terry to hit her, as she’s “all you’ve got left.” After taking his anger and frustration out on the lawn furniture, we hear their young daughter, Amanda Hobbs, calling for her mother.

"You hear that? You’re not all I’ve got left," says Terry before delivering his ultimatum to his wife: "You’re supposed to be a grieving mother. You start behaving like one, you hear me?"

Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley were incarcerated in 1994 for the murders of Steven Branch, Christopher Byers, and James Michael Moore and accused of being devil worshipers until they were found not guilty and released on Aug. 19, 2011. While she believed the Three to be guilty during the original investigation, Pam Hobbs had a change of heart shortly after they were released.

"I am content in my heart that Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley did not murder my son," said Pam Hobbs, per the Daily Mail in January 2012.

Pam then pushed for a new investigation of her by then ex-husband, Terry Hobbs, based on polygraph tests from three new witnesses that say Terry’s nephew, Michael Hobbs Jr., told friends his uncle murdered the three boys.

“Devil’s Knot" premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last September and will open in theaters on May 9.