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world-of-ryan · 1 month ago

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The Menendez Brothers

About the Netflix Documentary: Monsters. The Lyle and Erik Menendez story.

these guys did a phenomenal job despite the controversy.

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"The series — which stars Javier Bardem as José Menendez, Chloë Sevigny as Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez, Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez, and Nicholas Alexander Chavez as Lyle Menendez — is told from multiple perspectives, from those who believe the brothers were victims of heinous abuse to those who think Lyle and Erik callously killed their parents for financial gain. Monsters offers no concrete conclusions regarding the brothers’ driving force. Rather, it shows all points of view as if presenting arguments to a jury — and invites people watching to draw their own conclusions. “The audience is in for a real roller-coaster ride because every episode shifts perspective to a certain degree,” said Murphy. Brennan added that showing many angles was “the only way you could do this show responsibly because ultimately the truth of what happened is not knowable by anybody else, other than two people who are sitting in prison right now,” he said. “So the job was then … this Rashomon approach. I kept picturing it like we’re holding up a gem, or a sculpture, and looking at different facets of it.” In actuality, only four people know what happened that night, and two of them are dead. “We ask you as the audience to make the decision about what really happened because we’re just going off research, theories, and court testimony,” said Murphy.

Omg this documentary.

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THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS ARE NOT THE MONSTERS HERE!!!

The "perspectives" (below) 🙄 I can understand why the family criticized the series.

source: https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/monsters-lyle-erik-menendez-story-perspectives

Dominick Dunne played by Nathan Lane.

Key scene: In Episode 7, Dunne hosts a dinner party where he shares his opinions on the boys with his guests.

Perspective: “It’s a Greek tragedy. Brothers tormented and abused for years and fearful for their lives kill their parents in a desperate act of self-defense. It’s also utterly preposterous and riddled with plot holes. If José and Kitty were planning on murdering their sons that Sunday, why did Kitty invite her friend Karen Wiere over to the house to play bridge that very same night? And were Erik and Lyle really scared that their parents were going to murder them during that boat ride when there were three other people on that boat as well? Also, did you know Kitty and José were flying to Princeton the week they were killed to help Lyle furnish the new condo they just bought him? Which suggests they maybe weren’t planning to kill him? Kitty Menendez was filling out Erik’s college registration the night they were murdered. Now, for sake of argument, let’s say Lyle and Erik did murder their parents in self-defense because they were afraid for their lives — wouldn’t they then call the police and tell them the truth? Wouldn’t they confess and come forward with all the terrible family secrets they’d been hiding for years? Wouldn’t they behave as if they had one shred of guilt over what they’d done? But no, that’s not what happened. What did they do instead? They lied right from the very beginning.”

From the actor: “What’s interesting is you find out things that you think, ‘Oh, that can’t be true,’ and it is,” Nathan Lane said at a panel in New York recently. “You can’t believe some of the things that happened. For Dominick Dunne in that one episode, you explain why he’s such a passionate advocate for victims and why he’s looking out for José and Kitty in a way and doesn’t quite buy their story. And you find out why, which all goes back to his daughter who was murdered by an ex-boyfriend, and he went through this horrific trial, and it was just a travesty, and the guy got off with three and a half years. So yeah, I think it was very smart to do it this way and allow the audience to decide which version they believe, and it also makes for just interesting storytelling.”

Prosecutor David Conn played by Paul Adelstein

Bio: David Conn was the lead prosecutor in the retrial. He enters proceedings after a hung jury leads to a mistrial, and he takes a much different approach than the first prosecutor Pamela Bozanich did. He demolishes the brothers and all their claims by reminding the jury that Lyle can’t take the stand because confessional and damaging statements he'd made about the killings had recently come out in print. He succeeds in getting a guilty conviction and the brothers sentenced to life in prison.

Key scene: In Episode 9, Conn’s damning closing arguments helps cinch the brothers’ verdict.

Perspective: “All they had to do was one little murder, and they could have all the money in the world … Ladies and gentlemen, the defendants and their legal team are guilty. Not just of the crime of which they’re accused, but of something even more sinister. They’re guilty of exploiting the trauma of real sexual assault victims everywhere and trying to use it to get away with murder.”

From the actor: “He really doesn’t allow the judge to let any of the abuse stories in, and he really goes after Leslie Abramson, who was the boys’ defense attorney and champion,” Paul Adelstein told Tudum at the show’s premiere. “He was a brilliant lawyer and described as a bulldog — I think that was a really good description of him.”

"he found out that if he used alot of ketchup or lemons, it would make the taste in his mouth go away"

Ryan Murphy statements:

“The family’s response is predictable at best,” Ryan Murphy told Variety. “I find it interesting because I would like specifics about what they think is shocking or not shocking. It’s not like we’re making any of this stuff up. It’s all been presented before.”

“best thing that has happened to the Menéndez brothers in 30 years”,

“They are now being talked about by millions of people all over the world. There’s a documentary coming out into two weeks about them, also on Netflix. And I think the interesting thing about it is it’s asking people to answer the questions, ‘Should they get a new trial? Should they be let out of jail? What happens in our society? Should people be locked away for life? Is there no chance ever at rehabilitation?’.

“I’m interested in that, and a lot of people are talking about it. We’re asking really difficult questions, and it’s giving these brothers another trial in the court of public opinion.”

“I have no interest in talking to them,” he says. “It’s very good that Cooper has a relationship with them, and I’m very close, obviously, with Kim Kardashian, who has spoken to them.

“I love Kim, and I believe she does God’s work. I believe in prison reform. I believe in everything she believes in. I don’t know what I would say to them. What would I ask them? I know what their perspective is.”

“I believe in justice, but I don’t believe in being a part of that machine. That’s not my job. My job as an artist was to tell a perspective in a particular story. I feel I’ve done that, but I wish them well.”