The Staircase
I am completely fascinated by The Staircase on the Sundance Channel, an 8-chapter documentary about the murder trial of novelist Michael Peterson. Peterson was accused of the 2001 death of his wife, Kathleen, after she fell down a flight of stairs.Am loving the police procedurals and the inner workings of the defense team. (When the prosecution leaks that they're investigating the death of a woman 18 years who knew the defendant and died in the same way, the lead defense attorney turns to the camera and said "this just made your movie." Viewers get to see the defense team hash out their arguments (sometimes very painfully with Peterson in the room) and introduce the jury selection and witness coaches. It's like the best of an A&E crime show without the annoying expositional voice over.
During the course of the chapters you watch motives revealed, families fracture, and people become different than one would think they seem. Geekily fascinating documentary. Summary from ifilm.com:
A thrilling and tense 8 part documentary covering the accidental (or was it) death of Nortel exec Kathleen Peterson. Award-winning filmmaker Jean-Xavier De Lestrade covers the case from the arrest of Kathleen's husband to his trial to end result. As compelling as any drama on TV. NY Times: It may seem ludicrous to say that a movie running more than six hours is well edited, but "The Staircase," by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, is. And not only is the editing prize-worthy, but the whole film is also so brilliantly conceived, reported, filmed and paced that you may come to wish it were twice as long.
posted by braingirl @ 8:22 PM
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