As part of my research process, looking at the variance in which documentary can shape and present content, I’ve been looking at a breadth of films and documentaries that set out to do so. Many prescribe to the typical conventions set out by the genre and neglect to explore beyond the barriers of the documentary mode. Yet, on other hand, we’re starting to see more films (that technically are categorised as documentaries) delineate this well established boundary, separating fact from fiction in terms of how they establish and contemplate a story.
A very recent example of the momentum that this development has gained is Netflix’s Casting JonBenet (2017). Australian documentary maker, Kitty Green, makes breaking ground in her film that probes the public – rather than people intimately tied to the case in question – to draw upon their recollection of the time, as well as their own personal experiences, to speculate what might have happened.
On the surface, the film is set up as a series of casting interviews with actors auditioning for another film on the subject, interspersed with highly stylised and scripted re-enactments. On closer analysis,
“there is something truly inspired about asking actors to do the speculating. After all, part of their job is to put themselves in the mind of their characters. That process requires a mix of psychology, intuition, memory, and research in order to understand the roles they play, and it’s (mostly) fascinating to hear how this mix of actors draws from all those sources to understand the key players in the case” (Debruge. 2017).
These two film components – the raw interview footage as well as the dramatic reenactment of scenes – create a unique investigative device that offers the audience a fascinating insight into what, ultimately, created such a worldwide fascination with this case. The film doesn’t set out to establish a “who did it” type of scenario but, rather, how,
“this urban legend has assumed a life of its own: To some degree, all these actors serve as a kind of unofficial jury, evaluating hearsay in order to reach their own verdicts, while at the same time, the movie is inviting us to weigh the “evidence” it puts forward and draw our own conclusions” (Debruge. 2017).
Unlike the majority of traditional crime documentaries, and assumedly those that have looked at this specific case, Green’s film does not set out to determine who committed the crime which, she says, “is exactly the point” (Wilkonson. 2017) . Instead, her film assumes a refreshing, modern methodology that positions itself from an angle, addressing a question that, despite the incredible depth of coverage on this one case, has most likely never been asked before. Offering such an intriguing insight afresh, it’s films such as Casting JonBenet that escape the limitations posed by the rigidity of structure deemed by film categorisation. Not only this, they pave the way in how aspiring documentary makers can bend and break conventions that restrain us, rather than make available the methods, techniques and practices from which fictional film most often benefits.
References:
Debruge, P. (2017). Film Review: ‘Casting JonBenét’. [online] Variety. Available at: http://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/casting-jonbenet-review-jon-benet-ramsey-netflix-1202402572/ [Accessed 29 Apr. 2017].
Vox. (2017). Netflix’s Casting JonBenét isn’t a true crime story. It’s something better.. [online] Available at: http://www.vox.com/culture/2017/4/28/15437008/casting-jonbenet-kitty-green-interview-netflix [Accessed 29 Apr. 2017].
