The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst

This six-part true crime documentary series centered on notorious millionaire murder suspect Robert Durst briefly became a cultural phenomenon that dovetailed with current news. Part investigative documentary, part character study, this real-life murder mystery follows Durst, the black sheep of a rich family, who was a suspect in the 1982 disappearance of his wife in New York (still unsolved), was tied to a 2000 killing of a friend in California, and was tried and acquitted for the 2001 murder of a neighbor in Texas (Durst claimed it was self-defense). After director Andrew Jarecki made All Good Things, a 2010 feature film that dramatized the story of Durst and his first wife, Durst contacted Jarecki and offered to tell him his version of events directly. The resulting interviews form the spine of The Jinx, which is built around Jarecki's investigation of the crimes and features interviews with detectives, prosecutors, and witnesses. The documentary is full of bizarre twists and weird behavior by Durst, who is at the very least a deeply suspicious character, but also one with considerable charm and confidence, displaying remarkable and chilling poise while discussing details. The Jinx is riveting and compelling drama—with Durst's cagey confessions and sudden evasions painting a portrait of a potential sociopath who thinks he is smarter than everyone else—that builds to a shocking conclusion as filmmaker and subject engage in one last round of cat-and-mouse. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)