The opening title sequence even mirrors that of True Detective Season One, with it's double exposures and sexy, silky dark imagery that hints at events to come, and a bluesy song with threatening animistic themes.
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| True Detective |
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| The Jinx |
The credits are a neat package that set the viewer up. It says, "I know what you're looking for and I know what you like."
Robert Durst punctuates his statements with hard blinks made with nearly his entire face. He finishes his statements with a kind of facial enter key.
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| Robert Durst interviewed by Andrew Jarecki |
Durst is allowing his life, experiences, and odd ticks to be scrutinized. At his own request, Andrew Jarecki is interviewing Robert Durst for this six part series. Jarecki directed the 2010 film All Good Things, based on the mysterious disappearance of Robert Durst's wife Kathleen in 1982. This unfortunate event was only the tip of the iceberg for Durst's "bad luck." Jarecki's film doesn't cover all of the deaths surrounding Robert Durst. Of course Durst would want the world to hear his side, even if it uncovers more dirt.
The Jinx unfolds a story starting with Durst's most recent brush with death. In 2001 a body was found in a Galveston, Texas bay. The body was of Morris Black, who was the neighbor of an unfortunate looking mute woman and her brother-in-law (who were never in the same room at the same time). The "duo" had abandoned their apartment when Black's body was discovered, and all signs pointed to that room as the murder scene. Robert Durst, the millionaire real estate heir of New York was pinned as the one who resided in the apartment under a few assumed names.
After this part of Durst's life is established, the decades move forward and back like waves. The non linear story telling works well here. We are given the information as we need it; dolled out in pieces so we can understand and appreciate each morsel more than the next. We learn about his troubled childhood, the disappearance of his wife, the beginning of their relationship, the night of her disappearance, Durst's inability to connect with Kathleen's family and friends, his abuse towards Kathleen, and then we wind back again to reveal the truth behind what happened that fateful night.
Robert Durst tells half confessions. He has an explanation for everything, for his lies and his motives. Never does he admit to killing Kathleen, but he confesses so much, maybe without knowing it. Robert openly admits to hitting Kathleen, and forcing her to have an abortion. The titular line is uttered here, that Durst thought he would be a "jinx" to his offspring. He labels himself.Durst shockingly admits to lying to police immediately after Kathleen's disappearance. He added details like a glass of wine he had with a neighbor, or - more importantly - a phone call he claimed he made to Kathleen after she supposedly arrived in New York by train. Durst is flippant about the lies. He explains that it was simply to get the cops to leave him alone. It seemed he didn't understand that lying to the police would make it harder to find Kathleen. Maybe that wasn't his top priority.
If Robert Durst wants us to believe he didn't kill Kathleen, a story that has sustained 33 years, he doesn't exactly know how to do it. By the virtue of his own psychopathy he lays out his shocking, blatant apathy towards Kathleen.
Despite the neighbor denying Robert's story about their friendly drink back in '82, among other easily refutable statements, this did not seem to put a wrench in Durst's freedom. Robert's family appeared to work very hard to push this issue under the rug, and he was never convicted of murder. While Kathleen was missing, none even searched the house she was last seen in.
It was also very possible that a phone call supposedly made by Kathleen, the Monday after she was last seen, to her college to call out sick, was actually made by a close female friend of Durst's. Susan Berman was fiercely loyal and knew a thing or two about organized crime and PR. At the time Berman's claim to fame was a novel called Easy Street about her life as the daughter of a mobster. She almost exclusively spoke for Durst to the media during this time. Her story and persona are important to The Jinx, as many people touched by the crimes surrounding Robert Durst are wonderfully fleshed out in each episode.
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| I don't want to spoil too much.... |
Robert Durst's persona is a contentious one. Many people have a difficult time getting along with Durst, though he thrives with certain people (like the stepson of Susan Berman. who he may have murdered). Durst did a stint in prison for missing the court hearing for the 2001 murder of Morris Black. Photos of Durst in prison show him palling around with inmates, and I couldn't help but think of his unnerving comfort with all things criminal, and George Bluth Sr.
Many, many people are interviewed in The Jinx, and some may at first seem far removed, but Robert Durst's life infects in far reaching ways that lead a curious trail back to the center. Each new individual brings the promise of a twist or a connection, that makes the series riveting.
The reenactments in The Jinx are above and beyond the typical poor lookalikes who mime more than they act. It's cinematic, photographic, lush, and somber, creatively utilizing shadow and shallow depth of field to hide the features of the actors. Often shooting from the back of the head (gruesome sounding, I know) they hide distracting faces, and add a cerebral, thoughtful meditation on the individuals they represent.
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| The triple threat of visual anonymity. |
There are only two episodes left to air in this six part series. Much like Serial, we know that the end of the series is most certainly final. Though Serial promises a sort of second season featuring a different topic, or how True Detective will start Season Two with a new cast (and hopefully some thin connection to Season One), The Jinx is truly one of a kind and I cannot foresee a legitimate sequel. But we will be crying for one.
