How many times does a person have to tell a lie before, for them, it becomes the truth? 50? 100? 1000? The human psyche is a powerful thing, letting a lot of people make reality into what they want it to be, truth be damned. I supposed everyone does this on some level – protecting themselves from the things that cause them pain, regret and shame. But like everything in life, there are degrees to this kind of rationalization. Nearly every person featured in the documentary Capturing the Friedmans has created their own reality, to a degree that veers sharply into the unacceptable in many instances. Put it all together and it’s a nightmare of conflicting theories, “facts” and emotions. To call the situation “messy” would be a gross understatement.

In 1988, Arnold Friedman, respected community member, teacher, husband and father was abruptly thrust into the public eye. Arnold allegedly enjoyed the perusal of child pornography. He also taught computer classes to children in his home. This was the era of the McMartin preschool fiasco and considerable hysteria about sinister mass child molestation. When it was discovered that Arnold had an apparent predilection for young boys, the authorities immediately and methodically began interrogating his students. It didn’t take long for Arnold and his youngest son Jesse to be arrested on hundreds of charges of horrifying, bizarre sexual abuse.

So why is this worthy of a full-length documentary? What makes it any different than the other high profile cases of a similar ilk? With graphic stories of molestation and disturbing evidence that these stories were obtained under questionable circumstances, on the surface it isn’t different at all. But this family makes it different. The film itself is made up largely of home movies taken by the Friedmans themselves, first grainy home movies taken by Arnold (much of these overlaid with narrative) and later starkly clear video shot by eldest son David. This footage documents an excessively large amount of their lives both before and during this crisis. The footage is accompanied by interviews with Arnold’s wife, Elaine, David and Jesse. Middle son Seth refused to be a part of this production (hopefully indicating his ability to form rational thought). Also interviewed are various members of law enforcement, as well as the media, who became involved in the case in one way or another.

As the film unfolds, we get an increasingly disturbing picture of virtually everyone involved. The head of the police unit contradicts herself, and the evidence, repeatedly. The children (particularly David) defend Arnold vehemently, becoming highly agitated if presented with evidence of any wrongdoing. Director Andrew Jarecki does an excellent job of pulling out pieces of factual evidence and just sitting back and watching the various players interpret, spin, distort and rearrange that evidence. He doesn’t push any agenda here; just lets the viewers draw our own conclusions. He also refuses to present us with any easy answers. There is very little here that is black and white – it is a nightmare of shades of gray. It’s up to the viewer, ultimately, to decide what we think happened in this family. Is anyone innocent? Or guilty? And if so, of what? There are both victims and boogeymen everywhere you look (sometimes embodied within the same person), all wrapped up in a palpable sense of unease. Of some fundamental wrongness in this family. Only Elaine seems to have some kind of contemplative perspective on what happened to her family.

Capturing the Friedmans is, simply put, a riveting piece of humanity captured in all its horrifying glory. It’s like a train wreck, you can’t look away. The Friedmans seemingly compulsive need to film everything makes us voyeurs into family interactions rarely made public, perhaps for good reason. For this massive documentation is what ultimately paints the most disturbing portrait of the family. Not disturbing in that it proves either guilt or innocence, but disturbing in that the dynamic in this family feels, for lack of a better word, bad. Whatever their secrets, whatever their pasts, their lives are insular and strangely, intimately entangled.

So why would you want to see these rather creepy people and learn of their ordeal? Because they represent a time when mass sexual abuse hysteria was rampant, they represent a murky family dynamic, they represent the many ways to view a single situation. Capturing the Friedmans is intense, disturbing and unquestionably compelling. It has garnered numerous awards and nominations, and deservedly so – for Andrew Jarecki has given us a truly unusual documentary, one that forces us to decide for ourselves the true nature of these people. There is plenty of material here with which to draw conclusions, and I’m willing to bet that those conclusions will vary greatly from viewer to viewer. Who’s telling the truth? Who’s lying? Anyone? Everyone? For better or worse, I guarantee you won’t easily forget these people.


Recommended:
Yes