I'm a big fan of documentaries and while browsing Amazon, stumbled upon this film. I wasn't sure what to expect but figured it had to at least be an interesting story. This film was sort of like watching an episode of Jerry Springer. The colorful characters that make up the story seem as though they'd fit perfectly on the set of the notorious talk show, unafraid to air personal dramas and tales of violence. I say this, not to be mean, but to make the point that this film does not seem focused on portraying the victim or embarking on a larger narrative about her, the cycles of abuse that seem commonplace according to the family members and acquaintances interviewed, or how her mental capacity may have made her a target for abuse. Instead, the focus of the film seems to be on the victim's abusers, with much of the subject matter revolving around the matriarch of this "family". I also found myself uncomfortable with how locals and family members were portrayed. This film feels like sensationalism, intent on pointing out the most lurid and shocking details about these people and their behaviors, despite the fact that some of it is irrelevant to the story.
This film also feels incredibly amateur. Production quality is low, with much of the film looking and feeling like something made by sophomores in the AV Club at the local high school. There is little structure to the story. You're given a quick slideshow presentation of everyone being interviewed for this film, with its respective fade in/out of each photo and their names typeset in Bradley Hand below each one. And then the story takes off. The information comes in small jumbles that are (kind of) in some type of order. But it all ends up feeling like you're sitting in their living room, surrounded by all of them, and being bombarded with the story of every extenuating circumstance surrounding this woman's murder and having to do your best to make sense of it all. Occasionally I found myself lacking clarity on the victim's murder itself, which...well isn't that why we're all here??
Despite the films preoccupation with the seedier details of the people in the victim's life, I did feel a sense of sadness for this woman. She had no advocate and local authorities did little to nothing to help her. In fact, this is one of the points I wish had been further explored as well. Overall, a truly sad story made even sadder by what I saw as a pervasive atmosphere of neglect, physical, sexual and emotional abuse, poverty and incest surrounding this woman with mental challenges. I don't really recommend this film. It feels seedy, exploitative and cheap.
