As Episode 1 of "Stolen Youth" (2023 release; 3 episodes ranging from 64 min to 75 min each) opens, it is "Freshman Year 2009" at Sarah Lawrence College. MGMT's "Time to Pretend" is blasting away, and we are introduced to a group of then18 yo kids, who are now in their early 30s. They bond, and by their sophomore, they move in together in an off-campus house. Things couldn't be better. Then out of the blue, Tania's dad, Larry Ray, recently released from jail, also moves in, "temporarily"... At this point we are 10 minutes into the opening episode.
Couple of comments: this mini-series is the latest from award-winning director Zach Heinzerling ("Cutie and the Boxer", "McCartney 3,2.1"). Here he looks back at the bizarre events that unfolded in the early 2010s in New York involving a group of college kids being manipulated by a narcissistic guy, I mean, you can't make this stuff up! It is at the same time fascinating and nauseating. It's like watching a train wreck happening before you very own eyes. In addition to the many audio and video archive materials, we also hear from many of the people directly involved, looking back at this more than a decade later, some seemingly still shellshocked as they recount these events and how they ended up getting stuck in a cult, because that is what it was. Psychological manipulation in its most extreme form is what happened here. You probably are thinking that this could never happen to you, and that is exactly what this group of kids is now warning you about: if it could happen to them, it can happen to anyone. Please note that this mini-series is NOT titled "Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence". It is simply titled "Stolen Youth", per the mini-series film credits.
"Stolen Youth" premiered on Hulu in late February. I binged the 3 episodes in a single setting, and found this a lot more compelling that I had expected. If you are in the mood for a true crime documentary mini-series that reminds us what a cult is like, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.
