Capturing the Friedmans

A documentary about one of the most talked about American trials of the last few decades. An interesting and sometimes well-filmed documentary in which only at some points kept my interest but at others I felt myself drifting off into wonderland. I was unfortunately only subjected to the first half of the ‘doccie’, in which I only saw the lead up to the Friedman trial and then the night before he pleaded guilty.

The truth can sometimes be mislead or misused in order to make someone look like he is innocent or guilty. This documentary somehow pulled this off. With me missing the end part I do not know whether the Friedmans are guilty or not but what I do know is that leading up to the plea the evidence against the Friedmans was tremendous. The only evidence that the Friedmans had on their side was their word. This came across quite adequately with the home footage of the sons documenting the process and lead up to the trial.

This element of the ‘doccie’ grabbed me in that it was a different element. When there is an interesting story, viewers always want to see unusual things. Now this was the perfect opportunity for the viewers to get into the minds of the Friedmans and decide for themselves whether they were guilty or not. A good ‘doccie’ for me is one that makes the viewer think at all times and keeps their interest for the whole duration. This ‘doccie’ however did not catch my attention as firstly it was too long and the execution of the overall content was not satisfactory to the eye.

Overall the ‘doccie’ in my opinion concentrated on how the truth can be misused especially by people in power in order to get their man. I feel even though I did not watch the end of the ‘doccie’ that the Friedmans were innocent and that the victims just climbed onto the band wagon when saying that MrFriedman had sodomised their children. It’s a ripple effect. Once one kid had been abused then surely he must have a abused my child. Interesting and compelling view of the average American life growing up in a Jewish community and how the people around you can effect the outcome of the ‘truth’.