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Capturing the Friedmans
Capturing the Friedmans Image
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Metascore
90 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 39 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.1 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 33 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: Arnold Friedman, David Friedman, Elaine Friedman, Jesse Friedman
  • Summary: The Friedmans are a seemingly typical, upper-middle-class Jewish family whose world is instantly transformed when the father and his youngest son are arrested and charged with shocking and horrible crimes.
  • Director: Andrew Jarecki
  • Genre(s): Biography, Mystery, Crime, Documentary
  • Rating: Not Rated
  • Runtime: 107 min
  • More Details and Credits »

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 39
  3. Negative: 0 out of 39
  1. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Mark Caro
    100
    The more you learn, the more questions you have about life in that Great Neck house. Leo Tolstoy wrote that "every unhappy family is unhappy in its own fashion," but not even he could have invented the Friedmans.
  2. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    100
    A compulsively watchable movie that's also a provocative inquiry into the ability of the criminal-justice system to determine culpability and truth.
  3. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    50
    Jarecki shows off this footage as evidence of a truly dysfunctional family in various stages of denial. What it reveals at least as much is the modern phenomenon of reality-TV self-exposure carried to such lengths that, by comparison, the Osbournes look like the Cleavers.

See all 39 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 22
  3. Negative: 4 out of 22
  1. RichardH.
    10
    flows over many provocative questions not the least of which is "what's more important: pursuing and convicting the most evil of criminals or pursuing and maintaining justice?"… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. Anna
    10
    A brilliant and challenging documentary. stunning in every sense of the word. jarecki will challenge every notion you have held about sex offenders.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. hero
    2
    I felt that the directer had a clear agenda. After looking into the case - he left out numerous important facts that would have made the world of difference. He apparantly only interviewed a small number of victims and left out and/or minimized facts that would have contradicted an apparant agenda. If it was done on purpose or because of lack of research - shame on him… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 22 User Reviews

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