I have a secret. I love documentaries! Sometimes I just get in a mood to watch a good documentary. I’ve had this film on my netflix queue for awhile and when I realized it was up for instant viewing last night, I thought “Why not?” I was not disappointed.
The director manages to keep a tone of neutrality to the entire film, instead letting the home movies of the Friedmans do the talking for him. The disintergration of this seemingly idyllic family from Great Neck is fascinating, and at times completely uncomfortable to watch. The father and youngest son are accused of horrible sex crimes perpetrated on young boys while a computer class was taught in their household. While I hold my own ideas as to what happened after seeing this doc, I’m not going to state my views one way or another as I think it’s very important for people to come to their own conclusions on this issue.
I will say this. I have such compassion for the matriarch and came out of the experience of viewing the film absolutely hating her oldest son David for putting his father on a pedistal and not even giving his mother the respect that she deserved through the whole ordeal. By the end of the film it was obcious that this family was fractured beyond repair because of David, and that might be the saddest thing of all.
If you like documentaries, I totally suggesst checking this one out.
