Author Topic: The Jinx  (Read 5922 times)

enzobot24

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The Jinx
« on: March 27, 2015, 03:13:44 AM »
I think The Jinx was captivating until Jarecki started making the documentary about himself (after the midpoint of episode 5). He's not nearly as neutral as he wants us to think... and no sound mixer leaves a mic hot while a subject is in the bathroom. Durst is totally guilty, but Jarecki wanted to catch any semblance of a confession, and that's a morally grey act for a documentarian.

Jarecki crafted his triumphant filmmaker moment with whatever he could scrounge up. In this case, it's Durst muttering to himself in little (possibly sarcastic) voices. And that's hardly the confession the press wants it to be.
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1SO

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Re: The Jinx
« Reply #1 on: March 27, 2015, 07:14:27 AM »
+1 enzobot24. I had the exact same thought about the sound mixer. That mic would be off the moment the interview was over. The conversation was taped without Durst's knowledge and was left on deliberately to trap him. What was said isn't as inflammatory as it's being made out to be. Not nearly as big a reveal as the envelope at the end of Episode 5.

Having grown up with Michael Moore documentaries, I've disciplined myself to separate the film from the filmmaker. Fahrenheit 9/11 is an easy target for ridicule, but I think the filmmaking is uncommonly good. The Jinx is also put together really well. However, as each Chapter repeated those opening credits I started to feel more and more manipulated by the images and the music - a great song - revealing Jarecki's intent. The final episode had me wondering how much editing Jarecki was dong while waiting for that final interview that kept getting pushed back? How much was his mood at the time and his growing belief that he was about to break the case influence decisions in the editing room, coloring the entire project?

And am I the only one who wants to see Jarecki continue All Good Things and have Ryan Gosling play a modern day Durst? Those soulful gazes punctuated by intense blinking.

MartinTeller

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Re: The Jinx
« Reply #2 on: March 27, 2015, 11:58:26 AM »
If Jarecki's interviews are to be believed, that bathroom audio was not discovered until 2 years after the interview.

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Re: The Jinx
« Reply #3 on: March 27, 2015, 04:21:36 PM »
Guess I'm a cynic because I find that hard to believe.

MartinTeller

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Re: The Jinx
« Reply #4 on: March 27, 2015, 04:54:41 PM »
more Jinx talk: I dunno, I'm not an industry insider like you are.  Is it customary for a small documentary crew to immediately listen to every minute of stray audio that was recorded when nothing was being shot?  When the editors are sitting at the bay, do they usually say "okay we've got the shot we wanted, but let's keep watching this footage of an empty room just in case something dramatic happened when no one was paying attention"?

I agree that -- in terms of the case -- the "confession" is not all that revelatory and even if admitted in court, will be torn to shreds by the defense.  But for dramatic impact, it's a hell of a closing note.

Again, I don't recall Jarecki claiming to be neutral.  He wanted to give that appearance to Durst as much as could so as to make him more comfortable, but let's not forget he had previously made a fictionalized account condemning a thinly-veiled Durst stand-in.
« Last Edit: March 27, 2015, 07:15:57 PM by pixote »

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Re: The Jinx
« Reply #5 on: March 27, 2015, 05:13:15 PM »
It is customary for a sound mixer to cut when the camera cuts. It's very strange to leave the camera running on an empty room, unless you are still recording the audio. It is also customary for a sound mixer who is rolling sound to keep listening to what the mics are picking up. They don't pull their headphones off unless they cut, at which point they usually mute the audio so nobody else can hear a person's personal talk. There is simply no way a sound mixer would be rolling sound and not have his headphones on. This situation only makes sense if the mixer heard Durst in the bathroom but didn't share it with Jarecki or sound was recorded and cameras were set to roll but neither were monitored, which is possible with a documentary, but again makes no sense when you see a camera operator in the room during the 2nd interview. I can't believe Jarecki's claim, but I can fully believe he instructed the crew to keep rolling sound and camera after the interview was over, hoping to catch Durst off guard.

My wife believes Jareck has to say he didn't discover the audio till much later because then he'd be in legal trouble for withholding evidence of an ongoing murder investigation.
« Last Edit: March 27, 2015, 07:16:16 PM by pixote »

Bondo

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Re: The Jinx
« Reply #6 on: May 04, 2015, 11:51:40 PM »
My wife believes Jareck has to say he didn't discover the audio till much later because then he'd be in legal trouble for withholding evidence of an ongoing murder investigation.

See, this is a real concern for me. The documentary anyway doesn't make clear if he shared the envelope discovery with the police immediately or if he instead did his own investigating in order to be the one to spring it on Durst. That is really freaking shady and arguably could compromise the eventual legal case. I was lukewarm for much of the series and it is just souring the more I think about it.

P.S. I'm sure it isn't the legal standard, but I feel like the burden of proof wrt self defense should be on the defendant. Prove to me that there was a struggle by introducing evidence of bruises or abrasions or whatever. Otherwise (as we've seen too often) it is an incentive to kill people because the dead don't talk. The notion that it is at all reasonable to chop up a body and dump it if you didn't murder the person is kind of absurd. That isn't an irrelevant detail, contrary to the defense lawyers. Would his case for self defense have been worse if he immediately reported it? I don't see how.
« Last Edit: May 04, 2015, 11:57:19 PM by Bondo »

mañana

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Re: The Jinx
« Reply #7 on: May 29, 2015, 02:35:08 PM »
It was really annoying me that there was an Amadeus poster at the train station more than two years before the film opened, but then I realized it was for the play.
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jdc

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Re: The Jinx
« Reply #8 on: June 07, 2015, 11:55:42 PM »
It sort of seemed like they intentially left the camera and audio running in the second interview.  They also did the same in the first interview as there was a point they took a break and just left the camera on Durst sitting in the chair mumbling something.  Then his lawyer (I believe his lawyer) came over to let him know that they recorded what he was saying.  I can't quite remember but I think he was rehearsing a delivery of a line of something.

« Last Edit: June 09, 2015, 04:20:36 PM by jdc »
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ses

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Re: The Jinx
« Reply #9 on: June 09, 2015, 03:45:52 PM »
Yeah, that's how I felt, that they intentionally left it on, but Durst should've known that, especially the second time.
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