Sheriff
From the Chicago Reader

Daniel Kraus's cinema verite study (2003) of Ronald E. Hewett, sheriff of Brunswick County, North Carolina, is like an extended episode of Cops as directed by Frederick Wiseman--and I mean that as a compliment on both counts. Earnest, dedicated, and God-fearing, Hewett deals with a variety of crises and civic duties: busting an illegal video-gambling operation, rallying churchgoers against a proposed strip club, organizing a manhunt for a homicide suspect, and exhorting an assembly of high school students to be "pretty from the inside." The detail captured by Kraus's scrupulously neutral camera adds up to a fascinating, fully realized portrait of the man and the job. 76 min. (Cliff Doerksen)

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