Murder on Middle Beach

I'm sitting here at a loss trying to put into words how much this documentary series has impacted me. I don't know that I can adequately describe it. I have never seen anything like this series. I had to write a review to let others know to watch this masterful piece of work. There is such an emotional payoff but it will wreck you at the same time. At this point, I will watch anything that Madison Hamburg makes in the future. He is so gifted and talented and I'm astounded at how intimately he conveyed his pain and loss and brought the viewers into his family. The level of vulnerability and courage that took just astounded me. I can't wait to see what he does next.

I loved this documentary. So engaging and twist-turning. I am hoping for a follow-up at some point in the future!

I had to step in here because people make garbage reviews based off watching only a few minutes. Episode 1 does start slow but there's a reason for that and if you watch the 2nd episode you understand why. We don't choose our parents y'all. It's kinda unfair to say "I can't watch this because he grew up privileged". It's actually a refreshing twist on most true crime doc's with the son of the murder victim being the one asking all the questions, and half the time, it's the first time anyone has asked them these questions (Police really seemed to have dropped the ball on this investigation) while also learning things about his mother and his family that he never knew growing up. The pilot was enough for me to want to know a little more and EP.2 has really gripped me in and gave me more than I expected after the pilot. Don't be turned off by weird reviews. In the pilot you kinda think you already know who committed the murder but that quickly changes. I'm very interested to see how the rest of this doc plays out.

(I hate leaving reviews for an entire series before the series is finished but I had to with some of the things I was reading. I will come back after the series is over to leave a proper review. So far 8/10 but I'll leave a 9 to balance out some of weird reviews)

I felt compelled to step in after reading some of these other reviews, which just seem needlessly harsh because they can't look past this kid's background and evaluate the storytelling.

To be fair, I agree with what some have said about the first episode being a bit slow. It hits many story beats that are now well worn territory in the true crime genre.

It definitely picked up a lot in the second episode for me though and I'm hoping the momentum continues. Other than the murder mystery (which I get the sense is unlikely to be solved by the end but who knows), what is mainly keeping me interested is the family dynamics that were kept secret from the filmmaker for most of his life, that he is now slowly uncovering. It definitely provoked a feeling I would bet that most people can relate to - how you can come to see your family in a different light once you have some distance from the innocence of your youth, for better or for worse.

At the end of episode 2, I went to play the next episode and was disappointed to find out that it hadn't been released yet. Overall, I'm excited to watch more and see where this is all going!

You must appreciate this young man's efforts to document his moms murder and yes, it's an academic documentary at first. Keep watching! Once HBO gets hold of this, the production moves to another level of intrigue and mystery. Sure hope the murder gets solved.

The courage and utter perseverance for Madison to pursue his mother's murder is beyond heroic. My only light at the end of this dark tunnel is that Madison Hamburg is going to make it. Well done