Capturing the Friedmans

[kerry]

Just watched, 'Capturing the Friedman's'. What an epistemological morass. Are the detectives right? Obviously one of them lies. Is the father innocent? Obviously he lies. Is the son truthful? Either he or his lawyer lied. What about the film itself? Is a documentary truth or fiction? I was only confident about one judgment, the alleged victim telling his story on the couch was not believable.

Has anyone here seen it? What were your thoughts? Here's the last paragraph from Wikipedia about the matter:

"On August 16, 2010 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied Jesse Friedman's bid to withdraw his guilty plea but said he was probably wrongly convicted and was pressured into pleading guilty to a crime he may not have committed because police, prosecutors and the judge in the case were overzealous and swept up in the hysteria of the times. One day later Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced that she will appoint a committee of her own assistants to re-examine the case and will compile a panel of experts in law enforcement, law and social science to oversee the prosecutors' panel.[9]"

[tonkovich]

fascinating and frightening family.

i think the father finally admitted to some, uh, "fondling".

just a bizarre and - obviously - dysfunctional family. (what's with all the singing, and all the filming, recording, chronicling of their performances? pathological narcissism of the father, passed on to the sons? and the mother, what a passive braindead individual.)

[kerry]

No doubt they were odd. Dad clearly liked to look at child porn. He did admit to fondling 2 children in an entirely different context. Did they commit the crimes they were convicted of? I seriously doubt it.

[tonkovich]

Originally Posted by kerry

No doubt they were odd. Dad clearly liked to look at child porn. He did admit to fondling 2 children in an entirely different context. Did they commit the crimes they were convicted of? I seriously doubt it.

probably not. there was a "mcmartin" fueled hysteria going on. many innocents were convicted, or at least prosecuted. usually - but not always i.e. teachers, coaches and priests - molestation perpetrators are usually from the nuclear family, or close relatives. but, much easier to look outside, projection etc. (gee, we seem to be moving back to the topic of primitive belief systems, religions etc. or am i going "tangent" crazy? )

p,s, i wouldn't hire the "clown" son for a party; actually, i wouldn't ever hire a clown for a child's birthday party, but that's just me.