Time

New Orleans entrepreneur Sibil Fox Richardson is hanging on the telephone, a recurring image in this riveting documentary. It recounts 20 years in the life of Richardson and her husband, who - as a couple - robbed a bank in the 1990s during a "moment of desperation". Richardson (who goes by the name Fox Rich) took a plea and was released from prison after three-and-a-half years, while her husband is still serving his 60-year sentence in Louisiana State. But this is no lurid true-crime story. Rather, it is the close-up portrait of a family rent asunder by circumstance. Director Garrett Bradley, who worked second unit on Ava DuVernay's mini-series When They See Us, weaves together her own footage with the video messages Richardson makes with her well-raised kids, creating a film that resembles an emotional time capsule. At the centre of it, Richardson is strident, dedicated, loving and patient beyond most people's breaking point. Her weapon is her saintly patience, but it's her faith that pulls them through: "God, watch over the sparrows, I know he's gon' watch over us." The reward is ultimately ours.