The Family I Had

I try not to give spoilers so others can get an idea by reading the review. Placing spoilers within a review seems pointless to review it as people like myself look at reviews for the content and overall opinion how a film comes across.

In this documentary I did enjoy it to an extent. I feel so much more could have been put into this. A lot of it is basically the same things being talked about. There are soooo many questions, theories, even people, neighbors, friends, family, etc...left out. Law enforcement left out. Many questions regarding this horrible tragedy need to be answered and if NETFLIX would have done it, O believe it would have shown so much more detail AND been an entire 10 episode docuseries. Real shame as the subject matter is well worth digging further into

This should be called A Case Study of Denial and Bad Decisions. From the beginning, this family was slated for disaster. It demonstrates the tragic results of ignoring glaring warning signs and blaming others. After all they have been through, they end the documentary placing the blame fully on everyone but themselves. If anything good comes from it, I hope that others can learn what they did not from their own mistakes. It was very frustrating to watch bad decision follow bad decision, but certainly provides insight into how this happened and many ways it could have been avoided from the beginning.

It centers around a horrific event and the aftermath of it. If you were a parent would you still love your child despite knowing what they are capable of. The documentary brings to question the whole nature versus nurture question. What causes someone to be evil? Are they born that way or is it because of the circumstances they are born into? The documentary leaves a lot unanswered and I wish they would have delved more into the why. So we only got surface level explanations as to why things went left for this young man. I give the mom props to be able to allow us into her live and listen to the scrutiny I'm sure she received .

This is a haunting and thought-provoking documentary that provides insight into an impossible situation a family is placed in after a tragic murder of one underage sibling by another. The documentary, in my opinion, is all the more interesting because it does not fall into the trap of trying to provide concocted closure where there can be none. I highly recommend it. Thank you to the family for sharing such awful and difficult thoughts.

I see that some of the reviews rate this film a bit low, but they are only making judgements on the people being profiled. They are not reviewing film. The documentary is very-well put together. There is not a wasted shot, no repetition, and no filler material. The bridging animation is relevant and apt - utilizing the artwork of the main subject. The story is compelling, tragic, and so coldly horrifying that it would not be accepted as a work of fiction. It's just too awful.