Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: JonBenét and the City of Boulder

I read the book and of course there must be a movie and in fact there was a mini-series for this book. I watched it and was a bit disappointed with it. I mean because we don't have a viable suspect even with John Mark Karr proclaiming his guilt and not being in the same state. He probably never met JonBenet Ramsey or knew about her existence until the tragic murder. I never thought the Ramseys were involve and they were finally clear after this film was made in 2003. So it's not the couple and I always knew they were innocent of such a horrendous crime. Anyway it's Lou Smith who brings common sense when a bunch of silly police detectives pointing the wrong finger when they messed up the crime scene in the first place. Yes, the Ramseys are rich and hired attorneys to protect them. Of course, the beauty pageants was what Patsy and JonBenet loved to do together and I'm sure JonBenet would have been a beauty queen now if she was not gone. Anyway, the movie does try to be objective if possible. It's a shame that we don't know the truth even after almost 10 years, it's another dead end in the case with so many questions and few answers. We know that the Ramseys are innocent.

There's been a brutal killing in Boulder, Colorado: JonBenét Ramsey, a 6-year-old girl from an affluent family, has been found murdered on Christmas Day in 1996, her body discovered in the basement of her parents' maze-like house some eight hours after they first reported her missing. Thus begins a chain of events that leads to lies, deception, bruised egos, terminated careers, fallen reputations, lawsuits, and so much ill will and bad blood that Boulder is probably still reeling from the aftershocks of this case. Excellent docudrama, a four-hour CBS movie-for-television chronicling the baffling true-life murder investigation, makes its case right from the start: that it is irrelevant how much time has transpired since the actual crime occurred (irrelevant, also, how many years have passed since this movie originally aired in 2000). This is a case that deserves to be solved, and it's an honest-to-God puzzler no matter how many news programs have attempted to cover the territory. Directing with enormous skill and a keen-eyed sensibility, Lawrence Schiller, working from Tom Topor's adaptation of Schiller's own book, gives us an awful lot of material to sift through, and yet he makes the picture a compulsively-watchable yarn featuring dozens of complicated characters introduced with clarity and aplomb. It would be next to impossible to eliminate scenes or conversations without leaving unanswered questions behind, so the running time is justified; still, I did grow tired of a subplot involving a "bottom feeder" reporter from a tabloid journal, while Kris Kristofferson's homicide detective Lou Smit never quite comes to life (Smit stood steadfastly behind the child's accused parents, and had a nifty summation of events which he proclaimed in a private session, yet much of the time we don't know where Smit stands with some of the evidence gathered--or why he seemed to believe the parents' story from the get-go). The film is frustrating: it's well-informed and yet cloudy. Since the case remains unsolved, there's not much satisfaction in the finale (we as viewers want an emotional release and, of course, we don't get it). Nevertheless, the filmmakers provide some great food-for-thought here and the large cast is superb, particularly Ken Howard as District Attorney Alex Hunter (who waged a war of words and actions with the Colorado Police Dept.) and Marg Helgenberger as the child's erratic mother. The wealthy parents, who stonewalled the police for four months and seemed to lead everyone in charge around by the hand, are two of the most fascinating murder witnesses in criminal history, and this is most likely the best examination of them we'll ever get on film.

This year, sad to reflect on this.

This film is convoluted and protracted, as a few other critics have mentioned. While a few good performances are presented (Ann-Margret, as Nedra, Patsy Ramsey's mother) and Marge Helgenberger as narcissistic and erratic Patsy Ramsey. Also Kris Kristoffersen is interesting, but portrays detective Lou Smit, who has sided with the Ramseys and offered no other possible explanations, and there were many.

So many people had keys to that house. A Christmas party in 1996 with over 50 people in their Colorado home.

I wanted to like this film as the case even today is intriguing and labyrinthine. But the film diverges onto sub-plots (some unnecessary, the audience knows tabloid reporters will sell their own grandmother for a headline). Ken Howard portrays the D.A., Alex Hunter and yet we do not see Harold Haddon, the defense attorney and the defense side here, and the machinations of the American legal system, the control over Bolder Police Department, and the possible obstructions to justice and obfuscations created by the defense.

By now we in the U.S. have seen many bungled and sad cases like this with "baffled" police and powerful District Attorneys, as well as corrupt defense attorneys. Sad that JonBenet herself may never see justice (the parents motives have been questionable), and new facts may not come to light.

A highly recommended book on this case is recommended: Steve Thomas wrote a few investigative theories, and also Jeffrey Scott Shapiro. Worth looking into for those interested in facts and true crime investigations. A curiosity piece as a movie, but in my opinion the audience today is more savvy and deserves some answers. 5/10.

At the beginning of this, with the obtrusive music and interminable opening, I groaned "oh no, this is gonna suck." Yet it quickly righted itself and established a good pace, the music backed off, and the director found a good way to reach a dramatic ending despite the case never being solved. Yes, we get an avalanche of characters at the beginning, and yes, that doll was absolutely ridiculous, and the constant "let us pray" scenes were a drag--but none of this seriously detracted from the movie (I'm calling it a movie because on the DVD it's a continuous 3hrs).

Does it answer the question "who killed JonBenet?" No. And more importantly, it doesn't try to do so. It presents the two main theories: parents did it vs. intruder did it, and shows us how and to some extent why each of the characters supports the theory that they do. The infighting between the Boulder Police and the DA's office is brought to life (best part of the movie), Danny Shapiro's role is clarified (very muddled in the book), and we're shown exactly how the case was screwed up almost from the very beginning, by detectives that were in over their heads. Thankfully, the director also edited this down to be a tight 3hrs as opposed to Schiller's sprawling, poorly written 800pgs.

High points:

The autopsy: as fake as the doll was, the girl on the table looked real and gave you an idea of just how badly JonBenet had been tortured before being killed. DA Alex Hunter: we get to watch him go from hip, experienced, Boulder DA to a frazzled, hard-drinking, Boulder politician whose career is going up in smoke because the police department can't bring him an actual case. Steve Thomas/Danny Shapiro: this whole bizarre game between the BPD and the Globe's reporter on the scence is fascinating. Who's playing whom here? The detectives make fun of Shapiro, while Shapiro plays all sides against the middle. Scene editing: the scenes go on just long enough to give you a sense of why they're there, but not so long as to make you twiddle your thumbs in irritation. Lou Smit in the Ramsey House: a great presentation of the key points of the intruder theory. Location: the film was shot on the actual Boulder locations for the most part, giving it a boost of realism.

LowLights: Music is annoying at the beginning: all that soppy piano stuff lends an unwanted covering of daytime soap to the early part of the film. Too many closeups: if Linda Arndt's (character, not actress) face came billowing into the screen one more time, I was going to hit FF. The director finally got out of that "dramatic closeup" mode by the last 2/3, but for a while, it was too much. "Let us pray" While I appreciate that the Ramseys may be deeply religious, 5min scenes in a church listening to a 2nd rate church choir can be yawn-inducing. There are a few too many long "let us rely on our faith" scenes.



All in all, very much worth seeing.



RstJ

This movie was very well done. I enjoy watching it. The little girl who plays JonBenet is a splitting image of the real JonBenet. Both the actors who played the parents look very much like the real thing. Even though in the pictures that the parents look through are obviously not JonBenet, if you didn't know better, you would think it was really her. And the dummy that was in the casket was very life-like. As you watch this, you start to get a hint on whodunnit. It was very well-acted. Does anyone know if the real house was used in the film?? It look so much like the real 755 15th Street. I love the line "I need an ambulance, I need back-up. I have a dead little girl." And the music played when the dad finds her is quite eerie making it even more shivery than it already is. It's a great movie, especially one when you are in the crime-solving mood.