Hollywood dramas often exaggerate the facts to squeeze more drama out of true stories. In the case of "Devil's Knot," the true-crime drama based on the case of the "West Memphis Three," the Hollywood version is muted and undercooked.

The film, released briefly in theaters earlier this year and now available for streaming on Netflix Instant, is based on Mara Leveritt's book of the same name and follows key players in the investigation of the murder of three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, in 1993. In a rush to ease a terrified public, local law enforcement zero in on three teenage suspects, based on connections to satanic beliefs.

The teens are arrested despite largely circumstantial evidence, and a private investigator (Colin Firth) begins to poke away at the holes in the case. The film's other central performance is by Reese Witherspoon as one of the victim's mothers. Despite their star wattage, both actors are given little to do other than unnatural accents.

It's a shame "Devil's Knot" is the movie available on Netflix Instant and not the engrossing 2012 documentary, "West of Memphis," produced by Peter Jackson, or the three-movie docu-series "Paradise Lost" that have aired over the years on HBO. There are so many fascinating details about the case, and the two-hour "Devil's Knot" can't find logical ways to fit them into its narrative.

There are plenty of good intentions on display in "Devil's Knot," but the movie just isn't executed to the level in which the story deserves. The film ends at the conviction of the three teens then fills in the subsequent years with brief on-screen text cards.

The gist of the ultimate result - the West Memphis Three were released in 2011 with an "Alford plea," which left them convicted but freed after time served. DNA evidence all but cleared them of wrongdoing and points toward other potential suspects.

Why is the West Memphis Three story so important? Recent events point to how mass media has a tendency to engulf consumers with partial, unrelated and/or arbitrary information, creating an oversimplified narrative to complicated situations.

You can see how it still happens today, with rampant speculation about a lost Malaysian airplane or the actions or inactions of a certain POW. The whole story is always worth the effort, and sometimes the whole story takes years to uncover, as was the case of the West Memphis Three.

• June Highlights on Netflix Instant

The beginning of each month always brings new content to the streaming service (and a ton of notable content expirations but WHATEVER).

Notable additions include: "Annie Hall," "Clear and Present Danger," "Wayne's World," "Major League," "Mission: Impossible III" and "Apocalypse Now Redux."

New TV includes new seasons of "Scandal" and BBC's "Sherlock," and, starting today, season two of "ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK." All caps very much deserved.

Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.