Capturing The Friedmans Movie Review:


Synopsis:

The Friedmans were a normal, loving American family. They lived in Long Island in an attractive home, had three sons, and enjoyed recording their daily lives on Super - 8 and later, video.
That is they did, until Mr Friedman, a respectable teacher held in high regard, was accused, along with the youngest of the sons, of molesting schoolchildren.
The family kept the cameras rolling, and the arrest; trial and aftermath of ensuing incidents are all captured here.
It is left for you to decide what to interpret from the footage shown.

This is how documentaries are supposed to be.
The facts relating to this unbelievably dysfunctional family are presented to viewers in a clear and surprisingly unbiased manner, (considering the sensitive subject matter), and no stone is left unturned in the search for creating a fully - formed chronicle of events and circumstances.
There are actually three Friedman brothers, but one of them did not wish to be involved, for painfully obvious reasons.

The sordid saga emerges as Arnold is being investigated over pornographic material he received in the post, a magazine detailing child abuse. As a result of searches in his home, further material is found, along with a list of young members of a computer club. It is when the police begin talking to these kids that the potential horror of the situation is realized. Jesse’s alleged involvement in administering the abuse (at the age of 18) is also a bombshell moment, especially due to the extremely violent nature of the assaults. Much of the footage we see relates to the consequences post - arrest, but there are flickers of the past that reveal so effectively how successful people can be in maintaining a façade for such a number of years.

What makes this really remarkable and escalates it from late night TV to must - see is the dearth of footage made available to Jarecki. He has assembled it into a fascinating chronology.
From the ancient black and white images of Friedman’s sister who died tragically, to Arnold and his future wife in the first throes of a relationship, right through until their boys are fully – grown, everything is here.

Then the bombshell accusation hits, and the footage becomes less innocent observation and more a defiant gesture towards the police and locals.
Perhaps they turned to the camera in their time of turmoil because it was all they knew how to do.
Arnold’s wife is a strange individual too, and she admits her flaws, but her actions are sometimes incomprehensible. For example, on one piece of footage we see her denouncing her husband, questioning his honesty and expressing her disgust.

Then, in the court footage she is there, squeezing his hand as she leads him out of court. It seems that her ideal of a united family goes beyond what most would tolerate - perhaps she was oblivious to the material being stored in her own home, but it is hard to relate to her reasons for remaining with him.
However, the way in which the two brothers round against her and support their father in the face of such evidence does them no favours.
A disturbing factor is the stillness of Arnold – he scarcely looks at the camera, and his resigned stance doesn’t seem like the reaction of an innocent man.
David is passionate about his family and their destruction, but comes across as quite a hammy individual and you get the idea that nothing will change his distorted view of the family unit. He has the mannerisms of a hysterical fishwife, and seeing him dressed up in a clown’s outfit, you can’t help but think if it weren’t for the stigma attached he’d be in the perfect occupation.
Jesse is also adamant on his views but hazier on his own personal issues. He comes across in interviews as more gentle than his brother but when you catch him in the footage, yelling at his mother it becomes apparent he is not quite whom he purports to be.

It’s like the police have stirred a still stagnant pond and dredged up the horrors lurking at the bottom.
What makes this such an involving work is the fact that there are many anomalies on both sides of the case. Things don’t quite add up. Everyone, including the police, seem to contradict themselves at some stage, one victim now says nothing ever happened, the other goes into graphic detail of a sordid assault.
All potential contributory factors, including Arnold’s childhood, are investigated and on hearing of his twisted upbringing you realize it certainly must have left him a severely damaged human being. This is not used as justification for his actions, merely to give us the full picture.
From the perspective of the family there are some plausible reasons to suggest that the victims may not have been fully telling the truth, but likewise The Friedmans are full of contradictions, and theirs are grave.
This is a most important documentary, tragic, sinister and full of untold mysteries.

Now the story of their life is complete, maybe the remaining Friedmans can move on - unless there is more to the story than they have chosen to reveal, which could very well be the case.

Terresa Gaffney

There's a startling genius to this documentary that sucks us in with astonishing footage of a real family disintegrating in the most unthinkable way ... right in front of our eyes. Jarecki somehow got permission from the Friedman family to not only interview them extensively on camera (only two people are missing), but also to use their library of incredibly personal home movies and videos. And the result is much more than just a collection of memories and old footage, it's an examination of a society and judicial system that simply doesn't work.

The Friedmans were prominent members of their Long Island community, Mom and Dad and three sons living the American Dream. Then Dad (Arnold) was arrested for possession of child pornography, and investigators found evidence of widespread sexual abuse of students both by Arnold and one of his sons. Throughout the gruelling case, the Friedmans continue to film their family meetings--now shouting matches. This gives us a fascinating glimpse into their life, and muddles the simplistic story the media was trumpeting to the nation.

This is a gripping and often macabre film that's impossible to look away from even as it makes us feels like voyeurs watching the destruction of a happy family. It's also astonishing how Jarecki never takes sides, showing us what happens from every angle and letting us draw our own conclusions. The only thing that becomes clear is that most of the people outside the family (cops, lawyers, journalists, relatives) are deeply mistaken about what happened, if anything did. The film is full of bracingly honest self-examination, raw humour and a fascinating vein of hysteria and emotion, but its real power is in the intimate examination of family ties. Through Jarecki's careful filmmaking, each of the Friedmans becomes a compelling, involving character who we watch over the course of some 40 years. The revealing interviews, quirky details and wrap-up epilogue are not only strongly moving, but they leave us wanting to know even more about them all.

Rich Cline

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