Into the Abyss is not just a compelling documentary about a convicted murderer on Death Row, but a further chapter in Werner Herzog's obsessive exploration of the American way of life - and death.

The star filmmaker, oft mocked for verging on self-parody, keeps his Teutonic explorer persona in check and allows his subjects' emotional outpourings-sadness, shame, dread, and desperation, and unexpected glimmers of hope and happiness-to set the tone.

It's a decent film, though I felt that a clearer, sharper light could have been cast on the defendants themselves.

You can say a lot about Werner Herzog, but who else could it be said of that he has fully earned the right to publicly address the most profound questions of our (or any) era?