'The Jinx – Part 2' review: HBO features an appearance by Robert Durst, with a little help from his friends

CNN
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The first thought I heard about “The Jinx – Part 2” was what could they do to make a comeback – resurrect the late Robert Dorset And make him confess on a hot mic again? A few episodes later, this nine-year continuation once again proved very compelling, thanks not only to the idiosyncrasies of the late Durst, but also to the “Star Wars” cantina of bizarre characters that surrounded him.

Director Andrew Jarecki makes it clear that he sees this as an extension of what came before by numbering the six episodes into seasons seven through twelfth. Lest anyone forget, the original docuseries stunned audiences when Durst, after being caught writing a damning note, was arrested. He went to the bathroom and was recorded His statement, “I killed them all, of course,” was seen by many as an admission regarding the disappearance of his wife, Cathy, and the subsequent murder of his girlfriend, Susan Berman.

While almost nothing can match that moment, Jarecki does what he can, including footage of interesting parties watching the final episode of “The Jinx” premiere at his home in 2015, and capturing their astonished reactions. He also had access to authorities interviewing Durst and others, as well as Durst's calls in prison to his friends, most of whom seemed disturbingly involved in trying to help him escape punishment.

Nick Chaffin, one of Durst's friends who ended up testifying against him, generally sums up this mentality by apparently cavalierly saying that he lacks a “moral hatred of murder and murderers.” Likewise, Unearthed Audio found that Berman was more complicit than the filmmakers imagined in trying to help Durst craft a plausible story regarding what might have happened to Kathy.

For all that, as New York Times reporter Charles Bagley noted, Durst would likely have remained free and avoided prosecution “if he had kept his trap shut.” Instead, he chose to cooperate with Jarecki, for reasons that baffle the authorities and those close to Dorset alike.

Jarecki does an admirable job of convincing key players to participate, including Deputy District Attorney John Lewin, Judge Mark Windham, defense attorney Dick DeGuerin, and several jurors from the trial that resulted in the Durst case. Condemnation 2021 To kill Berman. He also incorporates amusing anecdotes, such as Durst's efforts to appear particularly vulnerable to elicit sympathy, perhaps a little too transparently.

Given the wealth of sensational material, the only shame is that Jarecki felt compelled to dress up “The Jinx – Part Two” with tricks of the trade, including the actor's re-enactment, subtle but vivid, of everything from Durst looking down at Cathy's body. They fired aerial shots while he was speaking with the authorities. Although these are common practices now, when so much is drawn from reality, blurring these lines seems unnecessary and even distracting.

Along with Netflix “Making a Murderer” Help “The Jinx” get inside A wave of real crimes At its best and most exciting, it has become as valuable to premium networks and streaming services as attention-hungry as prestige dramas.

Durst may have been an unlikely man in Hollywood — he couldn't even spell “Beverly Hills” correctly — but more than two years after his death, he remains a source of fascination, one as disturbing as it is, unfortunately, difficult to explain. Withstands.

The Jinx – Part Two will premiere on April 21 at 10pm ET on HBO, which, like CNN, is a unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment. Discovery.