I'll start by saying I agree with one review that tells us Documentary used to mean facts and data and that this (and most) documentaries today are full of hearsay and innuendo. Honestly, the definition leans more toward Tabloid but, for some reason, that's not really a genre in the film industry. Odd. Having never heard of this case (I'm one of those rare birds who doesn't indulge in broadcast news), I was actually drawn in by the trailer where the girl says she felt the deceased visited her on his "passing journey." I also do like true-crime type stories. My objective view, based on not knowing anything about the case, is that this docudrama (ah, there's the word) was disheveled and jumped around too much, reiterated too many points, and led almost nowhere. It seems mainly a vehicle to draw in those who followed the trial in the news and were aware of the innuendo surrounding this family. More than one review thought there was no motive for Alex to murder his wife and son, but I'm trying to figure out if they mean the docudrama offered no motive; their lack of understanding how to put 2+2 together, or in reality there was no motive offered during the trial. For me - again, based only on this series - I thought there was more than enough motive based on the fact the wife was trying to divorce him (his financials would be revealed; she probably knew many secrets; he would lose face in the community) and his son was an albatross because of his involvement in the killing/boating accident; Alex had lost credibility by keeping his son out of prison and was probably deeply in debt from paying off so many people in the police and court systems (you didn't really think he spent all that money on pills, did you?). I mean, there's just a lot of common sense that is missing in some of the reviews who don't seem to understand what happened or think there was no motive. There's also a lot left out of this series, such as that Maggie was the true owner of all the Murdough's properties - Alex had sold them to her for $5 each at some point to protect the property from any lawsuits that could arise against him in the future (knowing he was embezzling the firm's money and stealing from clients). So he had HUGE reasons to kill Maggie since he was named in her will as the beneficiary of all their properties upon her death while during a divorce she could simply walk away with them.
As someone in the legal field, I feel compelled to point out that most of the other allegations against Alex are hearsay and have no evidence - not that I don't believe them. But I think Eddie is a lot more involved than he claims. And what about his brother coming and cleaning up the crime scene! Netflix kind of glossed over that, although, presumably, the police already had clear photos of the scene. That's outrageous that he was even allowed to do that AND I felt I saw the entire sociopathy of that family in his face and words in those moments when he pretended he thought it was "the least he could do." That is one of the biggest lines of bs in the whole series and it was only 4 seconds of footage.
I wish they could have gotten Alex for Gloria's murder, as well. He clearly staged her death for the insurance (probably left her there for Maggie to find) and then had the nerve to perform insurance fraud while pretending to care about her kids. I mean, this guy is a sociopath of the most lethal caliber. Hopefully, he will never get out of prison.
It's a sad story and not that uncommon for kids in powerful families to get away with things that are truly dangerous all to keep the parents from facing reality; it's a form of neglect. But I do agree with another review that reminds us those kids did know better but went along with Paul that night anyway. Each of them tells the camera that they felt wrong about going to the clam bake so far away by boat, and that they didn't want Paul to drive while he was so intoxicated. But no one did anything about it. Perhaps the biggest irony is that Paul was the outsider that everyone put up with because of his relationship with Morgan and, no doubt, because of the extravagances having such a wealthy friend afforded them. It's an age-old dilemma that our young women will turn the other cheek in the face of abuse.
By the end, we almost feel sorry for Paul and, truly, he was a victim of a violent, negligent family. The police and everyone Alex had on his payroll should also face some kind of investigation.
As someone in the legal field, I feel compelled to point out that most of the other allegations against Alex are hearsay and have no evidence - not that I don't believe them. But I think Eddie is a lot more involved than he claims. And what about his brother coming and cleaning up the crime scene! Netflix kind of glossed over that, although, presumably, the police already had clear photos of the scene. That's outrageous that he was even allowed to do that AND I felt I saw the entire sociopathy of that family in his face and words in those moments when he pretended he thought it was "the least he could do." That is one of the biggest lines of bs in the whole series and it was only 4 seconds of footage.
I wish they could have gotten Alex for Gloria's murder, as well. He clearly staged her death for the insurance (probably left her there for Maggie to find) and then had the nerve to perform insurance fraud while pretending to care about her kids. I mean, this guy is a sociopath of the most lethal caliber. Hopefully, he will never get out of prison.
It's a sad story and not that uncommon for kids in powerful families to get away with things that are truly dangerous all to keep the parents from facing reality; it's a form of neglect. But I do agree with another review that reminds us those kids did know better but went along with Paul that night anyway. Each of them tells the camera that they felt wrong about going to the clam bake so far away by boat, and that they didn't want Paul to drive while he was so intoxicated. But no one did anything about it. Perhaps the biggest irony is that Paul was the outsider that everyone put up with because of his relationship with Morgan and, no doubt, because of the extravagances having such a wealthy friend afforded them. It's an age-old dilemma that our young women will turn the other cheek in the face of abuse.
By the end, we almost feel sorry for Paul and, truly, he was a victim of a violent, negligent family. The police and everyone Alex had on his payroll should also face some kind of investigation.