Screenpopp

The Friedmans appeared to be a normal, upper-class Jewish family living in Great Neck, NY…until a late-1980s police investigation exposed a world of child pornography and molestation. At the center of the story are this bizarre dysfunctional family. “Capturing the Friedmans” started out as a documentary about David Friedman, a high-paid children’s party clown in New York. But it didn’t take the director long to figure out that David had a far more interesting story to tell. Both his father and his brother were convicted of child molestation, and incredibly, he captured on video their entire daily ordeal over the course of the year that they were out on bail. The intensity of the real-life close-up record of this family is excruciating to watch. Alan Friedman is the father, mild mannered and much loved as a teacher until he is discovered with homosexual child porn. The movie is also disturbing in that one of the few likeable characters is its central villain. A balanced view of a disturbing situation. The director just does a great job at inserting reasonable doubt in the story, but ultimately, they are guilty of course.

4 stars

Reviewed by: Maurizio Marchese on December 12, 2015