American Murder: The Family Next Door (A Documentary Review with Spoilers)

 

By Michael Momper

In the early morning hours of August 13, 2018, Colorado resident Chris Watts murdered his pregnant wife Shanann, drove her body to his work site in an oil field, and murdered his four-year old daughter Bella and three-year old daughter Celeste subsequently. These grisly murders were immediately the subject of national attention, as the case was one of the few family annihilation cases in the era of social media where the victims' lives were so publicly documented for the world to see. It is a harrowing story, one that garners even more emotional attachment than most simply because there are so many pictures and videos available of the victims via social media- for two years people have dug into their past with sadness and curiosity, often feeling like they personally know the victims because of the available footage. In Jenny Popplewell's latest documentary, American Murder: The Family Next Door, we get an incredibly detailed, almost privacy-free look into their lives before the murders, in an unconventional style with no narration and a story told mostly with ominous texts, social media posts and police video.

The title of this documentary accurately predicts viewers' connections to the Watts family after seeing their life play out in posts and videos. This family is an American family, plain and simple. With a nice home in beautiful Colorado, an attractive couple and two healthy, lively kids, this family seemed like one that could be living down any suburban street near you. This thought hits home, and seems to sit somewhere between an endorsement of paranoia and naive misplaced trust in your fellow man. We find the balance in the middle ground between these two outlooks, knowing that mankind is wicked but not in every waking moment.

This documentary is effective in its goal to probe deeper into the motives and societal phenomena at play in the Watts story. Rather than wade into the far too common waters of Murder Porn for the suburban housewife, this documentary slowly and methodically traces the crumbling marriage and tragic infidelity at the root of this story. Chris' lust for a younger single woman, greed for the fact that he wants to avoid bankruptcy by murderously cutting corners, and pride for thinking he can get away with all this and fool the world are all on display. This isn't a deep-dive psychological analysis of Chris, but Popplewell's film does do a good job chronicling the ways that the marriage fell apart and Shanann's desperation to put things back together. We see the horrifying way that domestic disputes can devolve, and feel an intense sadness for the innocent young victims tragically cast aside.

This movie is most effective to me as a ringing indictment of looking too seriously at the happiness displayed by the posts people choose to make on social media. Smiling faces abound, videos of joyful reunions and parties are posted, and the happiest highlights of life are on full display. But behind all of Shanann's energetic and vibrant posts was a marriage on the rocks and a cold, distant husband. Because of the favorable light that all of her posts cast her in, this documentary verges occasionally on a bit of deification of the deceased. It's hard to avoid surely, since almost any criticism of the very complex person who met her tragic end will most likely be met with outcry that ill is being spoken of the dead. However, it is important to remember in a documentary like this that Shanann was just like any of us, with her own triumphs and troubles, and perhaps if you look at her with this lens you will find her even more relatable than this documentary portrays. No doubt part of the tragedy, however, is that Shanann even with her final letter was interested in still saving this doomed marriage, and we viewers have nothing but heartbreak in thinking about her, her family, and her 3 children. God rest their souls.

This documentary is effective in telling the story without narration, as all of the explanation we need is given via the texts and social media posts, and the details of this all too real story are horrifying enough without even a single bit of outside explanation. The inclusion of the moments after Chris' arrest and in the courtroom are helpful in giving us a glimpse inside the narcissist at the heart of this story. This is a man who thought he could wipe the slate clean and start a new life without the Law finding out. Is Chris Watts a monster? Most certainly; however, as the documentary reinforces, he is unfortunately not a one-of-a-kind monster, as domestic violence and infidelity and greed will plague humanity for as long as it is on this earth. Our only hope now is the Shanann's family eventually find peace and that Chris, in his lifelong prison stay that is to come, comes to grips with the evil he has committed and resolves to finish the rest of his life as a changed man. This thoughtful documentary may not be the most subtle in its messaging, but its no-nonsense approach to this real life horror is one that is eye-opening as well as thought-provoking even for those completely unfamiliar with the case.

Rating: 80/100