The Jinx (miniseries)

Synopsis

The series investigates the unsolved 1982 disappearance of Durst's wife Kathie, the 2000 execution-style killing of writer Susan Berman, and the 2001 death and dismemberment of Durst's neighbor Morris Black in Galveston, Texas. It uses a wide array of existing footage including news, security footage, police evidence, and archival interviews combined with footage shot by Jarecki, which is composed of contemporary interviews, visual reenactments (some of which were shot at Jarecki's upstate New York home), and self-reflexive footage of Jarecki's film-making process and peculiar working relationship with Durst. Its complex editing style and narrative construction emphasize the contradictions within both Durst's life and the bizarre and grisly murders he allegedly committed.

During the conclusion of fifth episode, Sareb Kaufman, Berman's partner's son, contacts the filmmakers asking them to review material that was left by Berman after her murder: in it, he highlights an envelope from Durst to Berman sent in March 1999, with the envelope's block letter handwriting matching and containing the exact same "Beverley [sic] Hills" misspelling as the anonymous December 2000 envelope sent to the Beverly Hills Police Department to alert them of Berman's murder. The filmmakers, shocked by the revelation, place both envelopes in a safety deposit box, and decide to get a second interview from Durst.

In the sixth and final episode, the filmmakers visit a forensic document examiner, who, after analyzing both envelopes, as well as various other documents with Durst's block letter writing, states that the two writings have characteristics that can come from "one person, and only one person". Jarecki then attempts to get a second interview from Durst, who suddenly becomes elusive and uninterested in a follow-up, at one point claiming to be in Madrid - which Kaufman contradicts by stating that Durst told him he was in Los Angeles. Durst, however, unexpectedly gets arrested after violating a restraining order filed for by Douglas Durst; Jarecki, who Durst was filming with at the time, uses Durst's plea for evidence as leverage to make the second interview happen. During the interview, Jarecki confronts Durst about the match in handwriting on the two envelopes - Durst acknowledges the similarity, but denies writing the "cadaver" letter. After the interview Durst goes to the bathroom and, apparently unaware that his microphone is still recording, makes a rambling, off-camera statement to himself, ending with "What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course."

Episodes

^{^Note A} Chapter 6 is also referred to as "The Second Interview" on some promotional platforms.

Cast

In order of appearance:

Cast (reenactment)

Aftermath

Apprehensive about the documentary's portrayal of the Durst family and, in particular, its use of videotaped depositions which were subject to a confidentiality agreement, Robert Durst's estranged brother, Douglas Durst, who heads the Durst Organization, petitioned the New York Supreme Court in January 2015 to compel filmmaker Andrew Jarecki to reveal his sources. "Douglas Durst is worried [that] The Jinx will be a violent broadside against the family name and history,” the petition stated. By showing that his brother Robert or wife Debrah Lee Charatan violated a Westchester County judge's 2006 order sealing the material, Douglas Durst could sue to recover a $65 million family trust settlement. According to The New York Times, Robert Durst gave filmmakers "unrestricted access" to his personal files, which included the videotaped testimony.

A lawyer for Douglas Durst argued that The Jinx is a "sensationalized docudrama" and that its director is exempt from New York's shield law, designed to protect journalists. Jarecki replied that his use of dramatic reenactments (by actors whose faces were never shown) was not evidence of fictionalization, and despite attempting to "portray Robert Durst as a human being in a fashion that could help explain some of his behavior, rather than as a burlesque figure," never promised Durst his film would ultimately defend his innocence.

On March 14, 2015, the eve of the final episode's airing, Durst was arrested in New Orleans by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on a first degree murder warrant obtained by the LAPD in connection to the 2000 death of Susan Berman, as the result of an investigation stemming from new evidence presented in the miniseries. The Associated Press reported that a 1999 letter written by Durst to Berman, unearthed by the filmmakers, provided "key new evidence" leading to the filing of murder charges.

Interviewed 10 days after his brother's arrest, Douglas Durst told The New York Times that his brother had stalked him as recently as February 22, 2015, in Palm Beach, Florida, and that he felt "a tremendous sense of relief" at the turn of events which brought him into custody. Although sharply disputing some assumptions about the Durst family presented in Jarecki's documentary (which he had not seen), and continuing to stress the very real threat Robert posed to him and others, Douglas sounded a conciliatory note: “I no longer am looking over my shoulder,” he said. “I’m very grateful to ‘The Jinx’ for having brought this about.” He dropped his legal action against Jarecki in late April 2015, and was reportedly considering a move to freeze $74 million of his estranged brother's assets.

According to The New York Times, the filmmakers sought legal advice on when to share new evidence with law enforcement, weighing journalistic privilege against possible claims of evidentiary inadmissibility in a future trial.

Soundtrack

The theme song is "Fresh Blood" performed by Eels. The original score was composed by West Dylan Thordson with co-composition by John Kusiak. Musical saw, performed by Natalia Paruz, is featured throughout the series.

Reception

The Jinx received widespread critical acclaim and media buzz, particularly upon airing its revelatory finale. John Hendrickson at Esquire called the series' ending "one of the most jaw-dropping moments in television history." Mike Hale from The New York Times said it was "gut-wrenching, remarkable television." Sean T. Collins of The New York Observer called the series "a documentarian’s unicorn: a quest for the truth that, it seems, found it, and found it spectacularly," adding that in comparison to usual television true-crime documentary fare, The Jinx "pulls an SUV with a vanity plate that reads 'BEVERLEY' up on the curb and mows it all down."

Other critics accused the documentary of charting an uncomfortable line between storytelling and journalism. Two days after Durst's arrest and one day after the final installment of The Jinx was aired, The New Yorker reported that "[t]he filmmakers, having been quizzed on the time line of events as represented, have cancelled forthcoming interviews." Specifically, when challenged over whether Durst's arrest for trespassing on Douglas Durst's property occurred before the filmmakers' second interview with Robert Durst, as implied by The Jinx, Andrew Jarecki replied, "Yeah, I think I’ve got to get back to you with a proper response on that." Several media outlets questioned how long the filmmakers had sat on evidence damaging to Durst before turning it over to law enforcement.

Jarecki subsequently sent an explanation to multiple media outlets: “Given that we are likely to be called as witnesses in any case law enforcement may decide to bring against Robert Durst, it is not appropriate for us to comment further on these pending matters. We can confirm that evidence (including the envelope and the washroom recording) was turned over to authorities months ago.”

A study of Westchester County case notes by The Guardian indicated that, contrary to then-District Attorney Jeanine Pirro's assertions in The Jinx that "we were about to speak with" Susan Berman about Kathie Durst's disappearance, New York investigators had not yet scheduled an interview nor funded an investigator to visit Berman in California at the time of her December 23, 2000 murder. Durst said in a 2005 deposition, excerpted in The Jinx, that Berman called him shortly before her death and said: "The Los Angeles police contacted me. They wanted to talk about Kathie Durst’s disappearance.”

Although the Los Angeles Police Department denied any connection between Durst's arrest and HBO's airing of The Jinx finale, Dick DeGuerin, Durst's defense attorney, lashed out at the timing. “Do I think this is a coincidence? Hell, no,” he said. “There has been rumor, innuendo and speculation for a number of years, and now we’re going to get our day in court on this.”

Awards

The Jinx was nominated for six and won two Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in 2015: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series and Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming. It received nominations for Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming, Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming, Outstanding Sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera), and Outstanding Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming.

The Jinx was also awarded a 2015 Peabody Award, as well as the TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials from the Television Critics Association. Marc Smerling, Andrew Jarecki, and Jason Blum won the Producers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television.

International broadcast

The miniseries premiered in Australia on May 7, 2015, on Showcase. The Jinx premiered in India on June 9, 2015, on HBO Defined.