Rent The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst (2015)

Genuinely disturbing documentary - The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst review by AJ

One of the best documentaries I've watched. Genuinely disturbing in a low key way.

Intelligent and thought provoking, I was kept guessing right up to the last minutes of the film - was Bob capable of the murders of 3 people including his first wife and his best friend Susan Bermann? Could this innocuous and frail guy be capable of such heinous crimes - a jury found him not guilty of one murder but was he actually guilty of 3 murders? Or was he just incredibly unlucky for being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

You won't be disappointed if you invest 6hrs of your time to watch this incredibly well produced documentary..strongly recommend.

A deeply unsettling series which thankfully led to Robert Durst being convicted & justice served - The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst review by TB

I knew nothing of the crimes of Robert Durst. The only reason I rented this was because I saw a news story about his most recent conviction which gave a brief outlay of the history of the multiple cases against him and mentioned that he was convicted in a large part due to this series and its revelations.

It is not a spoiler to write what I have just written, because from the opening moments of this documentary, as well as the blurb on the Cinema Paradiso website, it is very clear that Durst was eventually charged with murder. But the journey to that conviction was something which absolutely nobody could have predicted and in fact if you told somebody, they probably wouldn't believe.

The best thing about this documentary from my perspective, which also scotches any allegations of glorifying him and his crimes, is just how much of a takedown the programme is of Durst personally. Whilst it is very clearly shown that he was absolutely a dangerous and cunning individual, he was also unbelievably pathetic and weak. Particularly in the later episodes, his conduct is one of a sad, attention seeking loner who just cannot stop drawing attention to himself, thinking he is cleverer than everyone else around him, including his many highly motivated enemies. This is a man who is a multi-multi millionaire, who could have had anything he ever wanted, especially the help he would have clearly needed from the childhood trauma he suffered.

Andrew Jarecki's interviews, as well as his candid thoughts outside of them, are also fascinating as well. This is a man who, as he gets more evidence and is clearly going to give what he has to the police, becomes torn with the fact that he has spent a large amount of time with Durst and whilst not considering him a friend by any means, talks about a sense of loyalty. This clear showing of the multi-layers of the case/documentary really takes it in unexpected and welcome ways, whilst in no way showing Durst as anything other than a deranged monster who deserved to be rotting in a prison cell.