Another side to the ugly truth.
The world has been utterly captivated by the trials of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey – the reaction from JOE readers to Netflix’s superb documentary ‘Making A Murderer‘ has been extremely welcome – and this story of murder, corruption and mystery has even managed to reach the Oval Office.
If you’re unfamiliar with the shady circumstances surrounding the murder of Teresa Halbach in 2005 then the documentary is a must-watch, but Netflix officials and the filmmakers themselves, Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi, have already said that a sequel is still a long way from happening.
With this in mind, we strongly urge you to watch ‘The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst’ because it’s one of the best documentaries to supplement ‘Making A Murderer’. Here’s why.
What’s it about?
If Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey represent the classes of American society that are vilified, bullied and abused then Robert Durst is the exact opposite.
The series investigates the unsolved and mysterious disappearance of his wife Kathie in 1982, the 2000 execution-style killing of a writer and the 2001 death and dismemberment of Morris Black in Galveston, Texas.
What connects all of these incidents? Robert Durst.
Money can be the painful stick that beats a painful lesson into all of us. Without saying too much, ‘The Jinx’ proves that there’s one rule for the rich and another for the rest of us. Can justice prevail in the face of such overwhelming wealth and power?
What about The Jinx is similar to ‘Making A Murderer’?
On a rather morbid note, once you see the final episode of ‘The Jinx’ you’ll instantly want to read every little detail surrounding Robert Durst’s life because this case goes far beyond what we see in this gripping six-episode series.
Aesthetically-speaking, both documentaries use an array of existing footage including news, security, police evidence, and archival interviews but what’s different in ‘The Jinx’ is that the filmmakers – Andrew Jarecki, Marc Smerling, and Zachary Stuart-Pontier – are far more prevalent and central to the narrative.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SkUnH5R2og
By sheer chance, it’s almost like they somehow become investigative journalists/detectives, whereas the ‘Making A Murderer’ creators chose to stay away from the camera as much as possible in order to let their subjects do the talking.
To a certain degree, whether consciously or not, Making A Murderer leaned towards Steven Avery’s innocence – you can read countless arguments about his guilt or innocence elsewhere – but the narrative approach of ‘The Jinx’ is akin to a pendulum.
After one interview, you’ll be convinced that Robert Durst is guilty. Five minutes later and you’ll be doubting everything that you previously held to be true about this case.
Do people like it?
94% on Rotten Tomatoes, 76% on Metacritic and it has been nominated for six Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards – winning ‘Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series’ and ‘Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming’.
It’s HBO. Need we say more?
What about The Jinx is different to ‘Making A Murderer’?
Amidst all the conspiracy theories, mud slinging and questionable juries, one thing that hasn’t been mentioned about ‘Making A Murderer’ is the sheer levels of passion, dedication and talent that its creators had for the project.
The same levels of skill are prevalent on ‘The Jinx’ but while ‘Making A Murderer’ seemed more focused on the dynamics of the trial and the corruption surrounding the case, ‘The Jinx’ is far more interested in the personality of Robert Durst and the search for an answer.
While we all instantly hated Manitowoc’s finest like Ken Kratz, Len Kachinsky, James Lenk and Andrew Colborn, things are a little bit murkier in Robert Durst’s life… up until the incredible finale.
Both documentaries will leave you enthralled, enraged and searching for every article that you can possibly find at 5am in the morning.
It’s an absolute must-watch.
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