The Jinx: A Documentary More Compelling than Most Scripted Shows

Need something to fill the void until Game of Thrones and Mad Men return? Look no further!
"What the hell did I do? Killed them all of course." Robert Durst, The Jinx, S01E06




In the interim between Game of Thrones and The Newsroom, HBO aired a six part documentary miniseries known as: The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst. The documentary followed Andrew Jarecki, a filmmaker, on his quest to get to the bottom of millionaire Robert Durst's supposed murders of his wife, his friend, and his tenant. Though I was a doubter at first, more focused on Justified, Better Call Saul, and The Walking Dead, after an episode or two, The Jinx had me just as hooked as the others.

"Yes, that'll be in the science fiction isle... you fucking
bitch who I'll kill! Uh oh - my mic was on!"
What makes the harrowing story of Robert Durst worth watching, is the characterization of the man. Now, as a documentary, obviously Durst is only shown in footage that Jarecki took. However, there is a good deal of said footage. After the movie based on Durst, All Good Things directed by Jarecki came out, Robert Durst himself called Jarecki, asking to be interviewed so he could "set the story straight." Two interviews followed, the first lasting hours upon hours, the second lasting only minutes.What kind of a criminal, many years after he avoided a life sentence in jail, comes crawling back into the spotlight? Only one that ostensibly wants to be caught.
However, adding intrigue is the fact that he is not some kind of Hannibal Lecter. He's an old Jewish man who, as many so astutely point out, "looks like a librarian."

The Jinx is made up of six episodes. The first couple mostly recap all one needs to know about Robert Durst. We learn in detail about his marriage to his wife Kathy (who disappeared without a trace in 1982), his friendship with Susan Berman (found dead many years later), his brother (who hired a body guard to protect himself from Robert), and various other characters involved in the murders and/or Durst's life. The documentary explores what Jarecki supposes drives Durst, what made him the man he is today, and exactly how someone who seems like an obvious criminal was able to get away with all of it. However, after the stage is set and the viewers have the knowledge of the world of Robert Durst, much like a scripted drama, the action can begin. As the action turns away from recapping the story of Durst, we begin to see exactly what is unfolding today.
Andrew Jarecki: Our guide to the land of Robert Durst

One of the key points in Durst's trial is his handwriting. When Susan Berman was shot and killed, the killer supposedly wrote a letter wherein he included Berman's address. Robert, the first suspect, was best friends with Berman. Thus, he had obviously written her letters in which her address was contained. The handwriting of the killer and of Robert however, were exactly the same, right down to the way they wrote the letter "n." Furthermore, as the interviews with Jarecki go underway, Durst makes more and more mistakes, admitting to things like, "nobody tells the whole truth" or accidentally muttering alibis on a break between questions. Now, though obviously none of this is counted as a confession, it only adds insult to injury in terms of his guilt.

The documentary also shows many interviews and clips from Durst's murder trial against Morris Black, the third murder. Essentially, Durst was the landlord for a crazy old man (Black) who apparently attacked Durst, causing Durst to not only kill him, but also eviscerate his body and throw the pieces in the local river, not unlike Dexter Morgan. Due to the obvious nature of who killed Black, the trial came down to whether it was self defense as Durst claimed or murder, as the prosecution did. Somehow, the two defense lawyers, called the best Texas had to offer, were able to dig Durst out of this case without any jail time whatsoever. Three murders and three times that Durst was able to escape the not-so-iron-fist of law.
Robert Durst has a similar style, though is much
less amiable of a killer.

Where the Jinx ends though, the story begins again. In the final episode of the documentary, Durst, unknowingly has his mic still on while he goes to the bathroom. After the second interview, wherein Jarecki cornered him into admitting that he couldn't tell the difference between the killer of Berman's handwriting and his own, Durst is disgruntled. While in the bathroom, he begins to go over what I can only assume are alibis. He actually says, "killed them all of course. He was right, I was wrong." Though once again, it seems like a confession, one cannot actually pin a crime on what could have been annoyance. Then again, stranger things have happened, haven't they?
The Sunday that The Jinx was to end, Robert Durst, in real time, was arrested for his murders. As a result of the HBO documentary bringing a whole collection of evidence to the forefront, Durst had to face the facts of his actions once again. Though it's unclear whether or not this will result in Durst receiving jail time of any kind, it has already wrapped The Jinx into current news. All of a sudden, on top of a fascinating story, The Jinx keeps viewers informed on current events.

Whether or not it was a mainstream drama or not, The Jinx was some of the better television put out recently. If HBO keeps surprising us with treats like The Jinx and True Detective in their Winter offseason, it won't really be fair to call it the offseason anymore, now will it? All in all, though it sadly won't have any continuation on HBO, The Jinx provides viewers with a highly interesting current event to keep up on, an intriguing bridge into the mind of a madman, and of course, a great viewing experience.

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