This documentary, on Netflix, is about a case that I had heard some details about before but shifts towards the end, away from being about True Crime and more on the dangers of jumping to conclusions when you haven't been presented with all the facts.
The Cecil Hotel is a Los Angeles venue that was highly prized when it opened, but over the years fell into various states of disrepair, in parallel with the surround area become "skid row" - a focus of homelessness and crime. After some refurbishment work, the hotel establishes its reputation again, despite the dangerous elements still in the area. In 2013, Elissa Lam, a Canadian student, disappears from the hotel and the police release an odd video tape showing her behaving erratically in the lift. The police eventually discover her body, but not before amateur internet investigators have latched on to every aspect of the case.
Looking back, there's something a bit disingenuous about this whole documentary series. It has the answers all the way through, obviously, particularly the big reveal that explains away the one bit of the case that didn't ring true. It interviews a couple of "internet sleuths" throughout the show, and shows numerous bits of other footage from Youtube people offering their own ideas. It's not until the last episode that the show turns on them, telling us about the trauma inflicted on Pablo Vergara, whose anointed prime suspect because he'd been to the Cecil at some point in his life and because he makes death metal music. But that indignation comes after the third episode of the show ends by using Vergara as a hook for the next episode.
Apart from the manipulative nature of it, it's not that bad a documentary. They had access to the right people, the detectives, coroner, the manager at the hotel and even the poor maintenance guy who found the body and it finds an interesting way to tell the story, if a bit drawn out. Ultimately, it's just a sad tale of a poor woman's demise that is wrapped up in a dozen other mini-mysteries and odd folklaw, most kept going by people who have too much time on their hands and who don't know the full facts.
The Cecil Hotel is a Los Angeles venue that was highly prized when it opened, but over the years fell into various states of disrepair, in parallel with the surround area become "skid row" - a focus of homelessness and crime. After some refurbishment work, the hotel establishes its reputation again, despite the dangerous elements still in the area. In 2013, Elissa Lam, a Canadian student, disappears from the hotel and the police release an odd video tape showing her behaving erratically in the lift. The police eventually discover her body, but not before amateur internet investigators have latched on to every aspect of the case.
Looking back, there's something a bit disingenuous about this whole documentary series. It has the answers all the way through, obviously, particularly the big reveal that explains away the one bit of the case that didn't ring true. It interviews a couple of "internet sleuths" throughout the show, and shows numerous bits of other footage from Youtube people offering their own ideas. It's not until the last episode that the show turns on them, telling us about the trauma inflicted on Pablo Vergara, whose anointed prime suspect because he'd been to the Cecil at some point in his life and because he makes death metal music. But that indignation comes after the third episode of the show ends by using Vergara as a hook for the next episode.
Apart from the manipulative nature of it, it's not that bad a documentary. They had access to the right people, the detectives, coroner, the manager at the hotel and even the poor maintenance guy who found the body and it finds an interesting way to tell the story, if a bit drawn out. Ultimately, it's just a sad tale of a poor woman's demise that is wrapped up in a dozen other mini-mysteries and odd folklaw, most kept going by people who have too much time on their hands and who don't know the full facts.