Capturing the Friedmans

 

Story:

A family in crisis is "captured" through real home video. The Friedmans, an average upper-middle-class Jewish family in Great Neck, NY, found their world turned upside down when the father and son were charged with child molestation in 1987. The media inundated the airwaves with coverage of the alleged crime, but some of the best footage was shot by the family themselves -- seen publicly for the first time in this documentary (NetFlix).

Review:

A friend of mine directed me to Capturing the Friedmans, claiming it to be one of the best documentaries he ahs ever seen, and I must say he’s not far from the truth.  Andrew Jarecki uses the home videos of David Friedman to weave a story of betrayal, denial and personal and family breakdown. 

For most audiences it may be tough to sit through this documentary as it is like watching five tragedies at the same time.  Worse still, you will certainly (at the very least) empathize with every character, as Jarecki refuses to take sides or point the blame at any one individual.  A choice that I assume was difficult to make (especially with the film originally following David), but ultimately rewarding.

The closest documentary to compare with this is Gates of Heaven.  Both films take a situation as the looking glass for an in-depth look at family life.  Capturing the Friedmans is certainly much darker and more up-front in its dissection, but the two films share this similar idea and ultimately both leave you questioning and analyzing your own feelings towards loved ones.

Admittedly, Jarecki probably did very little filming for this feature.  It relies solely on the Friedman’s home videos and interviews with family members and those connected with the child molestation case.  But, Jarecki takes footage he didn’t film and makes it his own.  One beautifully edited scene finds the entire family sitting down for a Seder dinner, only to watch it quickly collapse into yelling, cursing and false promises of “starting over.”  Jarecki apparently knows the footage and the emotions caught within it enough to know when to hold a frame, dissolve or even move on.

What the film does perfectly though, is ask the right questions.  Every character stumbles over the appropriate way to answer some of the specifics involving the case or their relationships, but at the same time the feel comfortable and willing to express their opinions honestly.  It’s no wonder that these questions, and their respective answers, elicit a complex and terrifying picture of what appears to be a simple court case on child molestation.

It is important to note that when you finish Capturing the Friedmans, you may not know if the father and son were innocent or guilty, but what you will understand how easy it is for even the closest family to fracture under incredible pressure.

Reviewed by Matthew Abshire for Documentary Film Online on August 08, 2007

In Conclusion: