Dinosaur 13, 2014.
Directed by Todd Douglas Miller.
SYNOPSIS:
Documentary that tells the dramatic, and at times unbelievable, story of how the largest and most complete T-rex fossil discovery affected the people who discovered her.
Dinosaur 13 tells the story of the small group of fossil lovers, led by brothers Peter and Neal Larsen, who found the largest and most complete T-Rex skeleton ever discovered. The T-Rex, named ‘Sue’, after the woman who initially found her, becomes the subject of a bizarre and infuriating custody battle between the “amateur” paleontologists who found the fossil and the federal government.
It’s hard to not root for a group of local boys from South Dakota who devote their entire lives to their love of fossils. When they make the most significant fossil discovery not only of their lives, but arguably of all time, their focus is showcasing the discovery in a new museum in their small home-town, not cashing in by selling ‘Sue’ to the highest bidder.
The beginning of Dinosaur 13, which focuses on the discovery of ‘Sue’ and the years of work it took to properly preserve her, is the strongest section of the documentary. Miller does a admirable job of making the audience understand why the subjects of Dinosaur 13 cared so much about ‘Sue’ (and fossils in general) and how this unique discovery positively affected the small town of Hill City, SD in such a strong way.
When the federal government comes to take ‘Sue’ away it is a blow not only to the men and women who discovered and took care of her, but also to the inhabitants of the small town that looks to ‘Sue’ as their own celebrity of sorts, the discovery that makes them special. As a viewer it’s hard to not to get mad during the section of the film where ‘Sue’ is seized. When school children are protesting in the streets demanding the National Guard (yes, the National Guard was inexplicably called in) stop trying to take ‘Sue’ away from their town you are definitely in David and Goliath territory.
A wide variety of stubborn, greedy, and power hungry people seem to be working together to first take ‘Sue’ away from her discoverers, and later destroy the lives of these same men just to prove that they were right to seize ‘Sue’ in the first place. One thing is for sure – as lucky as the Larsens were to find ‘Sue’ they were also unlucky enough to find her on land that one lawyer described as a “legal netherworld” – land owned by the federal government, in trust for Native Americans.
There are a lot of villains in Dinosaur 13 and one of the documentary’s weaknesses is that viewers are told about these villains and their motives, but the film is so one-sided we never get a chance to properly hear from the other side. There’s the land owner who appears to have changed his story about selling the fossil to benefit his own personal gain. The district attorneys, prosecutors and judges whose behavior seems both mean-spirited and downright bizarre at times. The “professional” paleontologists who seem threatened by their non-PHD fellow fossil lovers and more than happy to help in the fight to stop their work.
How can you not take the side of the people who want ‘Sue’ to be enjoyed by the masses over the people who would seemingly rather ‘Sue’ spend eternity boxed up in a warehouse because some paperwork didn’t get filled out properly?
The film loses it’s focus at times but the intrigue of “what will happen to ‘Sue’” and her discoverers is more than enough to convince viewers to stick around to the end of the film. Even though the film is telling you how to feel more than letting audience members come to their own decision about it’s events at times, it’s hard to imagine any rational explanation for the events that unfold during the film. Even if you don’t come away from Dinosaur 13 with a love of fossils I bet you will come away with a tremendous amount of respect and empathy for the men and women who fought for so many years to ensure ‘Sue’ could be shared with the world.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Amy Richau is a freelance entertainment and sports writer. Follow her on Twitter.
Originally published September 1, 2014. Updated April 15, 2018.
