Review of Capturing the Friedmans

This movie deals with the sadly familiar topics of dysfunctional families, pedophilia, incest, child abuse, and incompetent psychologists and prosecutors. As the media spotlight has turned from the molesters and rapists to social workers, investigators and prosecutors who obviously have some embarrassing issues of their own, we now find ourselves in a situation in which even an admitted pedophile like Arnold Friedman can find sympathizers. I'm not one of those people that cries "Believe the victims!" without bothering to find out whether the "victim" is a victim of a pedophile predator, or of a disgustingly sick social worker or prosecutor. But it's the unfortunate truth that public reaction to the latter has now placed us in a position where a real pedophile predator can hide behind accusations of "false memory." Nice job, Freudians.

Capturing the Friedmans show us all sides of this story. Obviously, if any of the interviewees was lying when the case went to trial, they can't possibly admit it now, not even to themselves. The truth is unknowable and the damage is irreparable. The only person who seems to have moved on to a semblance of a normal life, at least as far as we are shown, is Elaine Friedman. She has remarried -- quite well, apparently -- and is living out her remaining days in pastoral serenity in the Berkshires. (She looks rather medicated in her interviews, but that might just be her style.)

But the movie is basically a freak show. This bizarre family made lots of home movies and videos of themselves being bizarre, and once we start looking we can't stop. Shame on us.