Second part of the series Monsters, The story of Lyle and Erik Menendez tells how these brothers came to brutally kill their parents in August 1989 in Beverly Hills, a news story that made headlines for years.
The nine-episode work was criticized by the family and by the brothers themselves, who consider it misleading and sensationalist, a usual reaction from relatives after any biopic.
Still in prison 35 years after their crime, the Menendez sons nevertheless appear less bad than their loved ones perceived.
It is true that they are portrayed as narcissistic and superficial beings, especially Lyle. But their behavior is largely explained by the way they were raised by abusive and deviant parents. Especially the father, appallingly cruel.
Behind the glamorous and flashy cover of the wealth of the 80s, it is above all the gloomy, sickening and infinitely sad aspect that we remember from this story.
Lyle and Erik Menendez may have everything to be happy, but their discomfort is deep.
José and Kitty Menendez (Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny) are dozing in front of their TV when their sons burst in and shoot them, leaving them in an indescribable state. A scene of horror.
Far from having committed the perfect crime, the two brothers then have a very funny way of dealing with their mourning, squandering their father’s wealth on rum & cocaine evenings and luxury cars.
Everything to attract the attention of the cops, who smell the pot.
Erik’s confession to the family psychologist plants the final nail in the coffin of the two assassins with bulging abs and perfect tans, in an America of pastel tones.
Over the course of nine episodes, the writers take the viewer on a journey back in time to understand why Erik and Lyle came to commit such a horrible act.
An entire episode is devoted to the day the parents met, before experiencing a marriage that was tumultuous and twisted to say the least.
The fifth episode, barely twenty minutes long, is particularly powerful. In a single camera shot, Erik tells his lawyer, in great detail, of the sexual abuse his father subjected him to.
And of course, several episodes are devoted to the preparation for the trial and the trial itself.
In Erik’s defense, Attorney Leslie Abramson (Ari Graynor) plays a major role. Behind a flamboyant facade, we sense the lawyer’s real intention to obtain justice for the abuse her client suffered.
A rage that the male jury will perceive as hysteria.
Basically, the brothers said they murdered their parents in self-defense, because they feared they would kill them. This theory was never accepted by the jury, which sentenced them to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
I had resisted seeing the first part of Monstersdedicated to serial murderer Jeffrey Dahmer. Let’s say that the stories of a killer who boiled the limbs of his victims made me resistant.
Lyle and Erik (Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch) lived under the yoke of an abusive and cruel father (Javier Bardem). (MILES CRIST/NETFLIX)
The second part, however, captivated me, for the most part at least. Far from being perfect and frankly a little long, Ryan Murphy’s series observes both sides of the coin.
Romanticized – because it’s TV! –, the work certainly does not claim to be 100% true. It’s up to you to sort out the truth from the fiction by reading through the multiple articles in the American press on this subject.
Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez counts on a rich distribution. Cooper Koch is particularly convincing in the role of Erik, especially in the fifth episode, where the camera remains focused on him until showing him in close-up.
A complex character, Erik explains that he never knew what sexual orientation he was, deeply troubled by the sexual “learning” in the form of attacks that his father subjected him to from a very young age.
“I don’t remember a time when my father didn’t rape me,” he says.
The role will certainly propel Koch to superstardom, much like Lyle’s did for Nicholas Chavez.
On the defense, Mr. Leslie Abramson (Ari Graynor) plays a major role in the story. (MILES CRIST/NETFLIX)
Another very present character, the journalist from Vanity Fair Dominick Dunne (Nathan Lane) is portrayed as a bit of a pedant, who likes to make a spectacle of himself in front of guests who drink in his words.
His determination to demonize the Menendez brothers is attributed to the villainous murder of his daughter, Dominique Dunne, actress of Poltergeistfor which the murderer was only three years behind bars.
By the greatest of coincidences, Nathan Lane played Thursday evening the first murderer of the second season ofElsbeth in the United States.
The reaction of relatives, who want a new trial for Erik and Lyle, reminded me of the hubbub surrounding Making a Murdererce true crime which had fascinated America and relaunched the investigation into this man from Wisconsin accused of murder, but who still says he is innocent.
That’s the power of TV.
If the family wants a new trial, it is because a letter written by Erik in 1988 has resurfaced.
“Every night I lie awake thinking that maybe he will come,” the youngest of the Menendez brothers wrote to his cousin, speaking of course of his father.
At a press conference Wednesday, the family argued that the jury might have exonerated Erik and Lyle if they had known about this letter.
With the moving third season of Heartstopper, The story of Lyle and Erik Menendez temporarily reconciled me with Netflix, a platform that has frankly disappointed me for quite some time.
But the shortage of interesting content, caused by last year’s long writers’ strike, is ending; the industry has well and truly recovered in the United States and the captivating series are likely to create a lot of traffic in the coming months.
A two-hour documentary, entitled The Menendez brothersis also available on Netflix, in English and French.
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