'Time II: Unfinished Business' Review: The Simple Triumph of Idealism and Faith
In 1997, Robert Richardson and his wife, Sibil Fox Richardson (also known as Fox Rich), were facing the collapse of all their dreams. Their business had failed, their house was becoming uninhabitable, and they had no money left to support themselves or their children. In an act of desperation, Rob and his nephew, Ontario Smith, went to their credit union and stole less than $6,000. Although they hadn’t physically hurt anyone during the crime, although the typical sentence for armed robbery was less than ten years, and although they were first time offenders, Ontario received a 45 year sentence. Rob was sentenced to 61 years in prison. Fox, whose only crime had been to drive her husband and nephew to the scene of the crime, would have gotten 19 years if she hadn’t entered a plea bargain. She ultimately served less than four years in prison, which is still more than most white collar criminals have ever served for stealing more than a thousand times the amount which these people took.
Years later, in 2020, filmmaker Garrett Bradley became the first black American woman to direct an Oscar-nominated feature documentary. The film in question was called Time, and it followed Fox Rich’s efforts to keep her family together during Rob’s incarceration. The film made use of original footage and home videos which Fox Rich had filmed across 18 years. It also covered Rob’s release from prison in 2018 after he spent 21 years behind bars. Bradley also became the first black American woman to win the Directing award in the documentary category at the Sundance Film Festival.
Now, four years later, the Richardson family has returned with a sequel to Time, fittingly titled Time II: Unfinished Business. Directed by Fox Rich herself, this follow-up film immediately sets a bittersweet tone. It opens with Rob praying to God, expressing his gratitude for what life has given him, even as a voiceover affirms his determination to free his nephew, who remains imprisoned.
It’s not only Ontario whom Rob and Fox are trying to save; they are determined to help free others from prison, including Gloria “Mama Glo” Williams, Louisiana’s longest-serving incarcerated woman. To do this, they explain, they must campaign to have the laws changed. It is not an easy process; alone amongst the states, Louisiana law follows the archaic Napoleonic Code. Rather than being guided by precedence, Louisiana judges are allowed to give out ludicrously long sentences, no matter how minor the crime. We hear about how the prosecutors had been determined to make an example out of the Richardsons, and how one judge opposes any kind of parole for them because it would “open the floodgates”. The examples given in the documentary are outrageous, and very revealing when it comes to the inherent racism within American society. During one screening of a parole hearing, a white member of the panel blatantly uses an old racial slur to describe Ontario, which Rob scathingly points out as an aside.
Moments like that are when this documentary is at its best: the revelations about Louisiana’s incarceration record, the relentlessly retributive justice system, and the harsh reality under which Rob was allowed to leave prison. Even when he is released, it isn’t the end of Rob’s struggles as a felon, as he candidly explains. In conveying the brutality of the American justice system, the documentary is chillingly effective. There is one scene where Rob correctly points out to his family how, when he was in prison, he learned about how ‘respectable’ families such as the Kennedys and Rockefellers secured their fortunes. The contrast is stark and obvious to anyone watching this film.
The film’s subject matter is not all doom and gloom, however; Fox is determined to show how the Richardsons have not only endured but excelled. “Statistically speaking, our boys were supposed to fail,” Rob muses at one point. “Children of incarcerated parents are seven times more likely to be incarcerated themselves and nine times more likely to drop out of high school.” All of Rob and Fox’s children defy those expectations; one is a dentist, two are military veterans, and even the youngest is shown dancing in a high school play. As a director and matriarch, Fox repeats the strategy of the first film by jumping across timelines through the use of videos. This time, the timeline is 30 years, featuring social media posts alongside home videos. As activists, Rob and Fox are determined and strategic. One might lament that the film sometimes breezes over the process which led to the hearings we see in the film, but the overall messages are unmistakable.
Equally unmistakable is the passion behind this project. In victory and defeat, Fox and Rob do not falter. At one point, they point out that victory is already achieved by their family’s solidarity and their determination to be their best selves. That alone is a defiance of expectations and assumptions about families with incarcerated members. The heart of this documentary is in showing the humanity of those whom society labels as criminals, be it justified or not. The film doesn’t shy away from that, either. At Mama Glo’s parole meeting, a woman tearfully explains that the crime in which Mama Glo participated resulted in the death of her grandfather, for which Mama Glo acknowledges that there is no remedy. Someone else in the hearing points out that all Mama Glo can do is become a better person than she was before. It is a simple yet effective argument for rehabilitation and redemption over retribution.
Time II: Unfinished Business was filmed because the Richardsons believed that there was more to be done beyond what was achieved with the first film. The state of the U.S., and the world for that matter, proves their point beyond a doubt. What is also impossible to doubt is the Richardsons’ resolve to be the change that they want to see. It is a remarkable and inspirational story regardless of where you come from.