Search form

CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS (2003) (****)

Check Out the Trailer

Two things have to come together to make a good documentary a great one -- skilled and dedicated filmmakers that know what questions to ask and who to ask them to and serendipity. This film has both. The film chronicles the lives of the Friedman family, whose patriarch was convicted of child molestation along with his youngest son. It was one of the most famous such cases in American history. What the filmmakers lucked into with this documentary is that the oldest son, David, filmed and video recorded many family meetings even after Arnold, the father, and Jesse, the son, were arrested.

The film unblinkingly peers into the turmoil that this family went through. We get glimpses of Arnold as a funny, happy-go-lucky kind of guy, but after the charges were brought against him, he becomes a quiet, meek guilt-ridden lump. Elaine, Arnold's wife, seemed to love her husband before the charges, but old buried issues boiled to the surface and she quickly wrote him off. This betrayal by his mother created great anger and resentment in David, who sees his father through rose-colored glasses and sees his mother through cloudy resentment. Seth, the middle child, didn't even participate in the film, which adds to the story's mystery and makes the reading of the affects on the family more complex. Jesse, the youngest son, seems the most resolved about the situation and the most honest about the way he views both his father and mother. The last family member interviewed is Arnold's brother Howard, who is very emotionally scarred by the scandal. A revelation about Howard late in the movie adds a whole new wrinkle to him and his brother.

Arnold is obviously guilty of purchasing and owning child porn. He even admits to having sexual contact with boys on two occasions. Jesse, on the other hand, looks innocent. Det. Frances Galasso, who was in charge of the case, says early on in the film that with charges like these one has to be very careful because the accusation alone can ruin a person's life. However, this doesn't stop the police in the case from drumming up absurd charges that just couldn't have been true. Hysteria about the case grew in the community and people ganged up ready for a lynching.

The film brilliantly presents the facts and how the child accusers were manipulated. Like the phenomenal documentary PARADISE LOST, this film makes you wonder how this kind of mass stupidity can occur in America. It also brings great doubt to the fairness of the police and judicial system when it's often a case of the blind leading the blind (or better stated the ignorant leading the ignorant). Arnold and Jesse had no chance, because they were crucified in the media and no one, not even some people in their family or their lawyers, could forgive Arnold for what he had done. Should Arnold have gone to jail? Yes, but probably not for the crimes he was convicted of. And it clearly looks like his innocent son paid for the sins of his father. The film is an amazing look at how a victimized community will call for blood, turning humans into monsters… and I'm not just talking about the accused.

Support the Site

Buy "Capturing the Friedmans" Here!

Rick DeMott's picture

Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks