Definitely agree with the OP. I don't think the snappy editing and rushed voiceovers fit the story at all, as good as the story is. I much prefer the style of documentaries like Capturing the Friedmans (2003) or Hoop Dreams (1994) in this regard.
As for the story, the legal system failings are just astounding. Luckily, where I live it's near impossible to get bail on a murder charge (the way it should be). The film really takes it to the judge who noted that the crime was 'specific' which it was. The grandparents and others were visibly confused and angry about that justification, and imo it was probably because the concept wasn't clearly explained the judge was wrong in applying it (this is obvious in hindsight with the child's death, but should've been obvious to the judge).
I believe the 'specific' idea refers to spousal killings generally. In homicide there's a common crime of one partner killing the other, and it can be said (probably seen in statistics generally) that this is usually the only killing that occurs - ie the husband/wife only intends to kill the other, and it is a sole act of violence against that person. Though this may apply generally, it shouldn't have been relevant in this case, though it seems as though there was some inability by those in the justice system to characterise the nature of the wife.
The killing was never sure to be specific given the profile of the wife. She wasn't, for example, a wife reacting to years of domestic abuse by killing a husband. She was obsessive and had multiple restraining orders against her. She had many relationships and was unable to hold them properly. She had attempted suicide and was unstable. She appeared generally to be very narcissistic. These factors should have led someone to determine that there was a chance she would be a risk to her child in a murder-suicide family case, but they didn't. The crime she was charged with was one in which the murder was due to the failure of a relationship she held...she then conceieved that the only release to prevent this failure was to kill the other person in the relationship...this is pretty much the way that family murders/family murder-suicides tend to go, yet it didn't seem recognised that the child or others close to the wife could be at risk...so it's no wonder the grandparents were confused about the 'specific' idea.
Anyway, that's all rather OT..
7.5/10.
Is this your homework, Larry?
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