Capturing the Friedmans

An extraordinary achievement, Andrew Jarecki's startling documentary Capturing the Friedmans tells the story of the Friedman family. An apparently normal, middle class suburban family from Long Island, their world was shattered at Thanksgiving 1987 when the father, and local teacher, Arnold Friedman was accused of receiving child porn in the post. Further problems came for Friedman and his son Jesse in the shape of child molestation accusations. The rest of the family, mom Elaine, eldest son David and his brother Seth appear to be shocked at the arrests. Indeed as the trial date approaches, David decides to chronicle his family's confusion as Jesse and Arnold's situation becomes more acute, capturing the Friedman family with all of their dysfunction and neurosis. Yet things take a different turn when it appears that the police department didn't exactly handle the investigation in a manner reflective of its importance, and some of the children were heavily tutored by the cops and lawyers as regards their testimonies. And then just as you're starting to question the validity of these methods, another of David's video diaries throws an entirely different light on things.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that the purpose of Jarecki's film is to finally articulate the truth about the Friedmans' innocence or indeed guilt. If anything, however, he asks just as many questions as he answers, which is probably due to the fact that David's bizarre but transfixing video diaries are given centre stage in the picture. In presenting such an unnervingly and frighteningly intimate portrait of the unravelling family, with all of their eccentricities and peculiarities, he's made a haunting, provocative and disturbing film. It'll stay with you.