DVD Reviews
DVD Review: ‘Til Death Do Us Part
By Jeff Swindoll
Apr 22, 2008, 12:20 GMT

Documentarian Vita Lusty takes her camera inside prison to document a group of women who have been convicted of killing their husbands.  What she finds is not only did their husbands abuse the ladies but that the justice system also appears to have abused them as well.

In the course of the documentary we’re told that California is the most progressive state when it comes to securing prison rights.  If this is the case, then woe be to you if you’re incarcerated anywhere else.  If the stories of these ladies are from the most progressive then those elsewhere must be in a world of hurt.

It’s only been recently that spousal abuse can be considered a defense.  Self defense was based on the male model that both parties were of equal physical build and when the frailer sex, who were not exactly equal in build to their attackers, did the obvious and picked up a weapon self defense was thrown out the window. 

If the self-defense option would’ve been allowed in their cases these women might have gotten their charges reduced to manslaughter, but most of them were tried for murder and got life in prison. 

Filmmaker Vita Lusty goes into the prisons to interview them about their lives before the crimes, the commission of the murders, their cases, and how the state is dealing with them.

It’s a hard to exactly sympathize with these women since they did kill their abusers instead of running away from them, but it’s really obvious that the state is not one to see that these were only victims slashing back at those that abused them. 

What lets Lusty down in a way is that she wasn’t given much of a budget, not that you’d expect anyone to throw money at a documentary about forgotten women.  She uses some visuals that look like graphic art you can snag off the internet for free and occasionally punctuates gunshots with a sound effect that could strike you as eerie but she overuses it to the point that its’ a bit hokey. 

The women deserve some attention as does their plight, but the presentation could’ve used a bit more polish.  I don’t blame Lusty too much as I can imagine she was pinching every penny to get the documentary made.  

‘Til Death Do Us Part is presented in fullscreen.  Special features include a set of director’s film notes and some textual updates about the women featured in the film.  Next is Lusty’s 15 minute short film “Cops to Courts” that appears to have been made out of some of the interview footage in the main feature. 

Her 11-minute fictional short film “Bybee” about a young girl who falls apart after her boyfriend dumps her is next.  It’s followed by the 11-minute live performance video by Faith Nolan, an activist folk singer whose music is featured in the documentary.  Finally there’s the 2-minute trailer.  

‘Til Death Do Us Part tells of the plight of several women who only sound like they were defending themselves against their abusers.  The blindness of lady justice saddled them with harsher crimes and they pay for them in prisons everywhere.  It’s a story that deserves to be heard, but don’t expect a happy ending.

‘Til Death Do Us Part is now available at Amazon. As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.