Making a Murderer caused quite a stir when it was released on Netflix back in December. Now that the furore has calmed a little let's take a look and see whether it is worth your attention or not.
***THIS WITCH TRIAL WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS BELOW***
Who:
Directed by Laura Ricciardi & Moira Demos
What:
Documentary detailing the arrest and trial of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey for the murder of Teresa Halbach
Why:
To present the conflicting evidence both for and against the accused
When:
We start in 2003 with Steven Avery's release from prison after being exonerated of sexual assault and subsequent arrest in 2005 for murder
Where:
America in Manitowoc County
The Case For:
Before we begin this trial I would like to point out that this is not going to be a discussion on whether or not Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey are innocent or guilty of the charges brought against them. Both have been found guilty in a court of law and are currently serving the sentences meted out to them.
As a viewer of this show we are only shown a small portion of the 200 plus hours of evidence presented at the actual trials. Sure we are all entitled to our own opinions on whether we believe them to be guilty or not, but here I am mainly interested in whether the actual documentary is worthy of being set free or if I feel it should be sent to the gallows.
With that out of the way let's focus on what the subject matter is all about. Making a Murderer tells the true story of Steven Avery's wrongful conviction for the sexual assault of Penny Beerntsen back in 1985. After serving a staggering 18 years imprisonment for this crime, he is finally exonerated in 2003 after DNA evidence clears his name.
After bringing a $36 million dollar lawsuit against the Manitowoc County for his wrongful conviction, he is then accused and arrested for the murder of Teresa Halbach in 2005 along with his nephew Brendan Dassey. We then follow closely the events of the subsequent trial for this murder and are presented with evidence that shows enough reasonable doubt that you are left guessing which way the jury will go when deciding if the accused are guilty or not guilty.
The opening episode details Avery's origins and his first conviction for sexual assault and the battle to clear his name. It is quite shocking, once you are presented with the evidence here that a person can wallow in prison for such a long period of time when there is so much to suggest that he was innocent of the crime. Straight away the filmmakers have created an atmosphere of anger towards the authorities for such a miscarriage of justice.
This is definitely a powerful episode as it presents a person who definitely wasn't the most wholesome character going around. For having a bit of an unsavoury reputation it seems Avery was prejudged without a proper investigation into other possible offenders ever taking place. The episode then ends with the cliff-hanger that worse is to come for Avery just after he finally gains his freedom.
We then, in the next instalment, are given a bit of background about Steven Avery's lawsuit that he brings against the Manitowoc County for his imprisonment. I got the impression at this point that Avery was feeling quite cocky in himself; possibly due to the advice he was getting from his lawyers, that he should be compensated for his lost years. There is an element at play where I felt he appeared to be bullet proof; he has all this media attention around him and lawyers saying to get what you can.
Before the lawsuit gets off the ground though we are hit with the sucker punch that Teresa Halbach has gone missing after visiting the Avery family property and that Steven Avery is the prime suspect. One thing is for sure, the directors sure know how to end each episode leaving you wanting more.
Over the next eight remaining episodes we then see Steven Avery arrested and put on trial along with his nephew Brendan Dassey for the murder of Teresa Halbach. Throughout the whole series we are introduced to various family members and lawyers of both defendants as they plead their case. There are many interviews and phone conversations where we hear the views as to why each person believes in the defendants innocence.
We are definitely presented with an interesting and intriguing courtroom drama where evidence is presented and then theories shot down leaving you guessing throughout as to what the final verdict will be. This is a real life Law & Order episode where the people on trial are actually fighting to stay out of prison and it can be fascinating viewing.
There is intrigue aplenty as you see the incompetence of the way the case was put together and the handling of the investigation. Is Dassey colluded into giving false testimony? Did the cops plant evidence to guarantee a conviction? Is it all a conspiracy to avoid a lawsuit that would cost the county millions? These are all questions left for the jury and the viewer to decide.
There are definitely some interesting characters introduced throughout. Not least is Steven Avery himself who definitely has your sympathy in the beginning episode, whether you hold that same opinion by the end of the series depends on what your final thoughts are regarding what has been presented to you throughout.
Ken Kratz the lawyer for the prosecution most certainly has his moments. Personally I found him a little creepy. I also felt he bundled a few things where he should have handled them a lot better. One example of which is where he contradicts a media interview he gave suggesting how Halbach was murdered in Avery's trailer. Then during the trial this version of events is altered to suit the prosecution.
At the conclusion of Avery's trial Ken Kratz then moves onto prosecuting Dassey and reverts back to the prosecutions original thoughts on how Halbach's murder was carried out because that will help their cause in getting a guilty verdict against Dassey! I was amazed at the flip flopping and how evidence that has been clearly shown to be flawed in one case can then be viewed as correct in another.
Brendan Dassey is definitely someone I felt sorry for. He is clearly a mentally challenged individual who just doesn't seem to know the ramifications of what is going on around him. He is then lumped with possibly the worst court appointed lawyer he could get in the form of Len Kachinksy.
I know this is someone's freedom we are talking about here and I am a bit ashamed to admit it, but Len Kachinsky provided me with a few chuckles. He looks like a deer caught in the headlights when confronted by the media and seems so far out of his depth with everything taking place. I could not help but think of Ned Flanders every time I saw him on screen. I kept expecting him to say "Gee golly" with a big goofy grin every time he spoke.
I am positive the filmmakers got wind of this story and after a bit of investigating and a few interviews later could not believe their luck at finding such a nugget of journalistic gold. This show is quite literally one of those times where the saying "You have to see it to believe it" is totally appropriate. You would be hard pressed to find a comparable true story with as many twists and turns as this one.
It is no wonder the show has caused so much debate amongst viewers with the way the evidence is presented to us. To show how widespread the opinion is that justice was not served a petition was presented to the White House requesting pardons for both Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey. Both men are still professing their innocence and trying to have their convictions overturned.
I was left to question after the conclusion of the final episode whether I thought this show was worthy viewing; or had my emotions just been manipulated by two clever directors into feeling sympathy for two guilty murderers. I guess that is probably exactly what they set out to do when creating this show.
The Case Against:
I was so conflicted by the end of the tenth episode as to where my opinion lay. I definitely felt the directors had tried their upmost to shape my thoughts towards a not guilty verdict. This is helped immensely due to this not being a totally unbiased series to view. Most documentaries of this nature will provide you with both sides of the coin. Not so much this one.
After reading up on the case on the internet and finding out about some evidence that the directors chose to ignore showing; I was more convinced I was correct about their intentions. A lot has come to light in the wake of this airing that points to evidence of the defendant's guilt. These items were completely ignored during the course of the shows running time. The only reason to ignore facts that point to a guilty verdict is because you want viewers to consider someone innocent.
There are next to no interviews with the victim's family or lawyers; their side of the story is mainly told through media interviews or courtroom footage. The main reason for this is that the filmmakers are telling Steven Avery's story so we are looking at it from his perspective. Of course this doesn't provide us with a neutral opinion at all as the majority of the time we are being fed information that is supposed to convince us that Avery is not guilty.
This is a show designed to show support for Steven Avery and to a much lesser extent Brendan Dassey. You can't ignore the fact that Avery spent so much of his life wrongfully imprisoned and not think that there is a great story in there as a filmmaker. He is then accused of another crime and the film crew are given an unbelievable amount of access to family members and lawyers to film a documentary whilst that trial is taking place. The end product is bound to come out looking more in favour of the defendant than the prosecution.
I mentioned feeling sorry for Brendan Dassey due to his mental state but there were other factors too. His grandparents feature prominently throughout and are adamant in their defence of their son but very little focus is placed on their feelings towards Dassey. I am sure they would be equally convinced of his innocence but the filmmakers chose to show very little of them discussing Dassey. It worked against them as my opinion of both Allan Avery and Dolores Avery suffered because of their lack of empathy towards their grandson's plight.
He also has a mother who doesn't seem to know what the best way of helping her son is either. Barb Dassey, much like most of the family, appears to have a low education level and adheres to the common view of exactly what trailer trash looks like. So many members of the Avery/Dassey family are unsympathetic characters that it was very hard for me to feel sorry for what they were going through.
I did touch upon how I thought Avery liked the limelight and attention afforded to him once he got out of prison for his wrongful incarceration for sexual assault. The way I felt he played up to the celebrity status that he accrued really did not paint him in the best light to me. Again I do think he is a rather uneducated person and to have all this focus on him probably was quite daunting and I might be seeing it in a completely different way than others. But I definitely thought he enjoyed having a camera pointed at him.
My feelings would have probably been different if we were able to see more of the initial wrongful imprisonment. Back in 1985 there must not have been the same access in courtrooms filming a case as it occurred, otherwise we would have seen more of what went on. Only dedicating the first episode and about half of the second to this chapter of the story I felt was a misstep.
Focussing the remaining eight episodes on the trials then meant dragging the story out to longer than what is probably necessary. The original plan to show it all in a total of eight episodes would have tightened up the production and helped cut out some of the pointless parts that were included.
For example Allan Avery takes us at one point through his vegetable garden! I'm sorry, but what exactly does that have to do with the subject matter? Okay so he is preparing this in the hope Steven Avery can use it if he is set free but come on, do we really need to know that there are some nice lettuce and tomatoes growing in anticipation of a release date.
There were a lot of these types of scenes that just didn't need to be there. We get it, the family are devastated that their son has been accused of a crime that they feel yet again he is innocent of. But we don't need an interview every five minutes repeating the same lines over and over again. Likewise we don't need to be driven along roads with a bit of background music or have a camera sweeping through the Avery property showing us lounge rooms or the car yard just to make up time.
The biggest error on display here though is the complete lack of sorrow expressed throughout this series for the actual victims regardless of guilt. Both Penny Beerntsen (in the brief time her case is discussed) and to a far more serious level Teresa Halbach are virtually ignored as people and really are treated as secondary characters to the real horror story going on. I am sorry but a victim of sexual assault and another who is brutally murdered deserve far more sympathy and time spent on them than what is provided here.
The filmmakers should have exhibited some sorrow for the actual victims of the crimes committed through the footage we see. Instead the directors contrive to move our compassion over to the people who stand accused of these atrocities. Even now I still can't decide who I dislike more, the filmmakers for twisting my emotions this way; the Avery/Dassey family for trying to trick us into believing they are not guilty or the Manitowoc County for framing two innocent people if that be the case.
I guess without viewing all 200 plus hours of trial footage and reading the reams of courtroom transcripts we will never be in a position to pass judgement. That decision was left up to twelve jury members in each case and they have already provided their answer.
Verdict:
Making a Murderer has its merits but I can't help calling deceiver on this one due to the direction the filmmakers chose to pursue in telling this tale. It needs to spend some time in the stockade, until further evidence is forthcoming to clear its name...
Evidence:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Making_a_Murderer
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5189670/
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