Whether it’s to visit Baylor University on a college tour, check out the Silos from Fixer Upper stars Chip and Joanna Gaines or shop at their cult-favorite decor store Magnolia Market, millions of people a year flock to Waco. Those who have lived in or traveled through the Texas city know its charms and its lingering tragedy: the 51-day standoff between FBI agents and David Koresh’s Branch Davidian religious sect 30 years ago.Read more :creditrewardperks.com
Now, every tragedy seems to warrant made-for-TV anniversary coverage, but this series tries to do something different by using spare presentation and granting its participants extraordinary access. Especially with its grainy footage shot inside the FBI crisis-negotiation room, it makes for a riveting view into the events that led to the deadly siege.
Director Tiller Russell carefully steers away from the finger-pointing that would normally accompany such a story, focusing instead on why this incident happened and what it might have been preventable. It’s a smart and necessary approach, even though it leaves some unanswered questions.
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The cast of characters is strong, too, including survivors from both sides of the dispute; ATF agents Bill Buford and Jim Cavanaugh; a sniper, Christopher Whitcomb; and Gary Noesner, the FBI hostage negotiator who tried to persuade Branch Davidians to surrender. Michael Shannon, who plays Noesner, delivers a compelling performance, though his anger and shame are mostly suppressed. He’s the show’s only real spokesman for nonviolent means of resolution at a time when the mentality at the FBI, ATF, and many local police departments was, “Scream at them to disarm and surrender immediately or we will burn them down.” That mentality continues to be prevalent in America, though more people are questioning it.