HBO's documentary series The Jinx is the story of Robert Durst and the murder cases he has been embroiled in over the decades.
The series traces its origin to the 2010 film All Good Things, starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst. All Good Things was inspired by the story of Robert Durst and his first wife Kathleen, and after seeing the movie, Durst himself reached out to director Andrew Jarecki to tell his side of the story.
Over the next five years, Jarecki and a small crew of producers, camera crew and researchers documented every moment of their deep dive into the life of Robert Durst.
Durst, whose family is in one of New York's most prominent real estate dynasties, had never given an interview before. But he gave Jarecki nearly unlimited access to himself, and opened the door to a dogged pursuit of the truth. Years of investigation later, including hundreds of interviews with every single person connected to Durst or the murder victims, Jarecki found himself with far too much footage for a standard two-hour documentary film, as was the original plan.
So with HBO's support, The Jinx was made into a TV series -- but a series like no other. It's essentially a six-hour documentary, broken into six installments. They follow Robert Durst's life story including his childhood, the murder of his first wife Kathleen Durst, the murder of his close friend Susan Berman, the murder and dismemberment of his neighbor Morris Black, and more. The Jinx takes its time, unfurling its mysteries one at a time and connecting the dots with intelligence and patience.
Out of the hundreds of interviews, the show walks us through the pursuit of justice by friends and family members of the victims, policemen, investigators, lawyers, members of the Durst family (his own brother is afraid of him), journalists who've followed his story, and more. Jarecki filmed dramatic, even stylish, recreations of real events for the series, to help illustrate the stories these various witnesses tell.
As we learn about his difficult childhood and troubled family life, Durst is entirely sympathetic. But the details of the alleged crimes are so gruesome that he becomes utterly vile once more. His entire story is so bizarre yet true, each detail more incredible than the last.
It's rare that a documentary actually becomes part of the story that it's telling. The Jinx crew got hit with a curveball when the adopted son of Susan Berman, the second victim, came across an envelope addressed by Durst with handwriting that matched the address seen on an anonymous note sent to the police years before, informing them of where to find Berman's body. Both envelopes even misspelled the "Beverly" in Beverly Hills in the same way.
Faced with this damning evidence, Jarecki and his crew made a bold decision. Rather than go to the police, they would confront Durst with the two envelopes themselves and get his reaction on camera. You've probably already heard what happened next, as Durst confessed to all three murders while talking to himself in the bathroom, not knowing that his microphone was still hot.
Robert Durst is in jail today because of The Jinx and Jarecki's hard work, pending a new trial. That incredible accomplishment alone makes this series worth watching, but The Jinx would still be a triumph of dogged, unflinching determination regardless.
There's a tricky line to balance when it comes to documentaries, because you want to balance "truth in journalism" with a measure of entertainment. Documentaries exist to bring a true story to light, to open the eyes of the viewer. But if it's dull as dirt, nobody in our hyper-fast society will pay attention long enough to care. Jarecki walks this line masterfully, crafting an addictively engrossing show while paying due diligence to exploring every facet of Durst's life, and presenting the facts with surprisingly little bias.
The Jinx is a perfect case study in the right way to do a documentary. It's out on digital download right now; Blu-ray and DVD releases are scheduled for July 27, 2015.
T-Lounge Score:
★★★★★
Be sure to follow T-Lounge on Twitter and visit our Facebook page.
