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Capturing The Friedmans

2003, Movie, NR, 107 mins

Capturing The Friedmans: Review

CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS
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First-time feature filmmaker Andrew Jarecki intended to make a lighthearted documentary about children's party clowns. But after poking into the family history of one of his subjects he found he had the makings of a very different story on his hands, a story of pedophilia, child pornography and terrible accusations of sexual abuse. Jarecki discovered that clown David "Silly Billy" Friedman was the oldest son of Arnold Friedman, a well-respected Long Island schoolteacher who, along with David's younger brother, Jesse, was arrested and charged with crimes ranging from possession of kiddie porn to child molestation. Arnold came under the scrutiny of postal inspectors in 1984 when he ordered child pornography from the Netherlands; three years later, the police raided his house. In addition to Arnold's sizable stash of smut featuring underage boys, they found a list of all the kids Arnold taught at home in an after-school computer class. Suspecting the worst, Nassau County's sex-crimes unit began aggressively interviewing Arnold's students and amassing allegations of sexual abuse that also implicated Arnold's 18-year-old son, Jesse. In retrospect, a substantial number of the stories sound coerced and difficult to believe; many of the alleged victims told tales of abuse so outlandish that, if true, it couldn't possibly have gone undetected for so long. But Great Neck, N.Y., is the just the kind of close-knit, affluent suburb where, as one interviewee in the film sees it, residents thrive on neighborly competition, even when it comes to victimization. The charges against Arnold and Jesse Friedman escalated rapidly, suspicion turned to hysteria and the whole horrible story spilled into the national news. Through David, Jarecki not only gained access to Jesse and Arnold's wife Elaine (Arnold died in 1995), but the family's huge collection of home movies. They captured not only the Friedman pere et fils in happier times, mugging and capering for the cameras (performance and role playing appear to be a disquieting theme in the Friedman household), but also the terrible arguments that began tearing the family apart. Jesse, David and middle brother Seth rally around their father with unquestioning loyalty while Elaine, always the outsider, becomes the target of her family's rage. As he plumbs the mysteries of Arnold's past and marriage, Jarecki demonstrates an innate instinct for where the story lies. But he also has a showman's taste for tension, which, while it may not always serve his subject's best interests, keeps his audience off-balance and guessing. His film is never less than gripping. leave a comment --Ken Fox
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