Budding documentarians take note, if you really want to make an effective film, leave your own voice out of it. Capturing The Friedmans is the first documentary I can recall seeing that doesn’t have narration. Director Andrew Jarecki, through the marvel of editing, manages to completely retell the story with the talking heads of those involved. This results in a film that is totally void of outsider influence and leaves the audience to draw their own conclusion.
The story in question is that of the Friedman family, which starts when father Arnold Friedman becomes the subject of a sting operation when he receives a magazine containing child pornography. Within a month the investigation leads to the students of his piano and computing lessons coming forward of not only accusing him, but also his son Jesse of child molestation and sodomy. The film interviews family members, lawyers, alleged victims and their parents to try and get to the bottom of what really happened. The only thing the viewer can do is weigh up these accounts and decide for themselves. With reams of archive footage taken by the family on the build up to both Arnold and Jesse’s trials, this makes for essential viewing, a truly fascinating report that delves into the reaches of the ordinary American suburban family.
5/5
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