Capturing the Friedmans (2003)

Devastating look at the familial implosion that results when Arnold Friedman and his son Jesse are accused of child molestation. Trying to sort out the details of What Really Happened would put stress on any family unit, even the most perfect one; when the already-dysfunctional Friedman clan stumbles into this hall of mirrors, the results are not pretty. Out of the kind of reality that could never be invented by a screenwriter, director Andrew Jarecki untangles a mass of conflicting material and ends up with a portrait of chaos -- the justice system was overzealous, the victims were not necessarily trustworthy, the lawyers were unhelpful and the family itself couldn't be helped anyway. The film is not always easy to watch, and its ever-shifting sympathies may throw some for a loop, but this is undeniably powerful stuff.

Grade: A-