Monster is an American TV series created by Ryan Murphy and available on Netflix. This tells the stories of the various killers who really existed and so far two seasons have been made, the first dedicated to Dahmerand this second one, The story of Lyle and Erik Menéndez. Ryan Murphy therefore this time offers a season focused on the case of the Menendez brothers, with the cast composed of Nicholas Chavez, Cooper Koch, Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny. THE 9 episodes focused on them were made available on Netflix last September 19th.
A news story… scandalous
The brothers Lyle (Nicholas Chavez) ed Erik (Cooper Koch) Menendez in 1989 they killed their parents, José (Javier Bardem) and Kitty (Chloë Sevigny) Menéndez, in cold blood, and only a few years later, they received a life sentence for the murder they committed. When the time came for the trial, a lot of things came out different perspectives.
The prosecution alleged that the two young Menéndez were aiming to inherit the family fortune. On the other hand, however, the two brothers have stated and reiterated countless times (even today while serving a life sentence), that theand the real victims were actually themselvesand that that murder was only the result of everything they suffered from their parents during their lives.
Lyle and Erik claim that their father was a monster, and that he has them subjected to a life of abuse for years physical, emotional and sexual, while their mother, an alcoholic and addicted to drugs, never did anything to prevent it.
What is the truth? Are the two Menendez brothers two young executioners or in some way poor victims, driven by the instinct of survival and fear?
Want to talk about serial killers
Since the days of American Crime StoryRyan Murphy turned to True crime, but in that case it was “only” news stories. After a few years he focused more on the genre True crimeand decided to write miniseries that delve even further into the hidden corners of the psyche of certain criminals, through the possible testimonies of those who had the misfortune of having to deal with them (for example, relatives and friends of the victims).
Murphy’s idea lies in tell the story of these serial killers and show the possible reasons (or whatever) that pushed them to act in that horrible way. Not necessarily to make the viewer feel empathy, but to bring out possible truths through witnesses, and understand the psychological profile of these criminals.
The risk of these series is that we tend to romanticise what happenedeven going so far as to mention gods facts that didn’t happenand to hit the still open wounds of those who have lost loved ones.
In any case, it is a line of stories that manages to capture the interest of the public, capable of arousing curiosity, fascinating and… causing anguish.
Between killers and moral doubts: Who are the real monsters?
The miniseries of Dahmer she was able to make people try anguish and go deep into the psyche of the serial killer, but also in his past. It wasn’t an easy story to follow, nor did it take time to watch it all.
The story of the Menendez brothers, however, analyzes the various points of view of the protagonists and goes a a little more on the psychologicalbut already just hearing the stories of some events possibly true you can feel the chills, and even in this case you struggle to remain impassive. Here, however, we get to the real purpose of this miniseries.
The story of the Menendez brothers was written (very well) with the intention of showing the various points of view of the protagonists, in particular of the two killer brothers, but also of the two victims (the parents) before they were killed. But be careful, the goal is not to make people feel empathy or push them to come to terms with one side or another, but simply show the fact as it might have happened.
If you look from their perspective, the doubt lies here: they are gods ruthless killer, or their extreme action was the reaction to everything they had suffered throughout their lives because of their parents? They acted out of interest or for revenge? Their father was indeed that monster as they painted him and he really resorted to physical and psychological violence, even reaching the abuse?
The series also left room for the other part, where some differences can be seen elements that don’t add up and they don’t match at all. Here too, questions arise: were they really monsters or did they try, even wrongly, to do the best for their children and the latter didn’t understand it?
And this is where the series wants to arrive. If Dahmer left the simple doubt “But is evil born this way or does it become this way?” and focused more on the victims and the psyche of the perpetrator, the Menendez case takes the audience to ask yourself questions.
The series does not leave out any important details and analyzes all the steps (life before that tragic night, the trial, all the possible truths that come out, etc.). The flaw lies in fictionalizing some passages too much and occasionally appearing chaotic.
Technical sector and actors
In addition to good writing and editing that leaves the right space for the various points of view, even becoming confusing at times, there is also good direction and a good performance by the four actors. In particular we mention the excellent direction of the central episode, which frames a moment perfectly, for more than half an hour, and which gives you shivers when listening to the story.
Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch fell into the roles perfectly of the two brothers, not at all simple for young people who still have to learn their skills. As for the parents, the choice of Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny was perfect.
Sevigny was great, while Bardem got to express his incredible talent in this series. He hardly got one wrong: he covered all kinds of roles with professionalism, but in this case he was phenomenal, and we got to see the real Bardem at work.
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