[Review] The Perfect Neighbor: More Authentic, More Profound
Unlike typical true-crime documentaries, The Perfect Neighbor uses body-cam footage to create a heightened sense of realism and deeper emotional resonance.
Production still of The Perfect Neighbor
While the film is titled The Perfect Neighbor, the opening scene immediately informs the audience that this is a documentary centered on a shooting tragedy. This inverted narrative technique first reveals the outcome of the incident, then loops back to introduce the people and the sequence of events: What precisely led to the shooting? The first half of the film primarily explores the neighborly relationships within an American community. The neighborhood is largely harmonious, filled with children who play together, with families looking out for one another. The sole "anomaly" in this community is Susan Louise Lorincz, a white woman in her 50s. The fact that this case can be pieced together into a film using police body-camera footage is entirely due to Susan's frequent calls to the police, accusing children of trespassing and harassing her. Conversely, she was accused by neighbors of verbally abusing and constantly filming the children, leading to frequent conflicts. After seeing the neighborhood dynamic, viewers quickly realize Susan is the source of the disputes, even though she insists she is "the perfect neighbor."
Due to Susan's frequent reports, local police were familiar with the issues in the community but could do little more than advise parents to watch their children and try to minimize disturbances. The body-cam footage captures the entire process of the police handling these situations, including moments of genuine emotion from the officers. They can be seen smiling and joking that they too used to run around their neighborhoods as children, understanding that this is normal behavior for kids and typical of a community. Living in such a neighborhood, Susan may genuinely have felt disturbed by the children's playing, laughter, and shouting. Her only options might have been to tolerate it or move away. While this may seem unfair to Susan, it is an unavoidable aspect of many such communities and cannot excuse any harsh language or behavior directed at the children.
Production still of The Perfect Neighbor
Aside from these ongoing disputes, the police once handled a case where Susan damaged a neighbor's fence. At the time, she claimed her actions stemmed from fear, citing past experiences of sexual assault and attack. Fear—this would become the crucial element in the case, the reason why a neighborly spat escalated into a fatal shooting and became the subject of a documentary. One day, Susan was once again involved in a conflict with neighborhood children and was accused of attacking a child. The child's mother, Ajike Owens, went to Susan's door and knocked, demanding to talk. The result: Susan fired a gun through the closed door, killing Ajike. From the moment the police arrive, Susan continuously insists that she shot out of fear and concern for her personal safety. She later even wrote a letter to Ajike's children, again emphasizing that fear motivated her action. But was her fear enough to justify pulling the trigger? Did Ajike knocking on the door truly constitute a threat to Susan's life, warranting a deadly response out of fear? The police officer taking Susan's statement later points out that only two minutes elapsed between Susan calling the police about Ajike knocking and her subsequent call after firing the gun. Was the perceived threat from Ajike so immediate that Susan couldn't wait for the police to arrive before shooting in self-defense? The interviewing officer notes that Susan's testimony is not credible.
Moving from the narrative of neighborly relations to the documentation of the shooting, the film initially seems focused only on one isolated case and tragedy. It is during the police interrogation of Susan that a more crucial subject finally surfaces: Florida's Stand-Your-Ground law. This statute permits an individual to use any form of self-defense if they feel threatened within their dwelling. The film briefly addresses the controversy surrounding this law, including the rise in murder and manslaughter rates and its disproportionate impact across different racial lines. Although Susan denies trying to use the law to "legally" kill Ajike, this case clearly highlights the contentious nature of the Stand-Your-Ground statute. Through the police body-cam footage, the film captures the raw moment when Ajike's children, mother, and neighbors learn of her death. Hearing her child state that his heart is broken will likely break the hearts of viewers as well, leaving them with sadness and anger over the entire event.
The essence of a documentary is to record real events and history. Most are composed of real footage shot by the production team and interviews. Some documentaries may not capture the events as they unfold and must later recreate the scene using sets and actors. The Perfect Neighbor is also composed of real-time footage and interviews, but the majority of the footage is not filmed by the production crew; it comes from police body-worn cameras. This technique lends the film an intensely authentic, immediate feeling, particularly the urgency following the shooting. Furthermore, while the production team interviewed key individuals and related parties, they only use the subjects' voices, overlaying them onto real footage. This choice avoids an artificial, post-production feel and further hides the traces of the documentary crew. The result is a film that feels more real and more focused on authentic images and events than a typical documentary. Instead of simply watching a film, viewers feel as if they are personally witnessing the events unfold, allowing them to intimately absorb the atmosphere and emotions of the scene. In a society plagued by gun violence and the existence of the Stand-Your-Ground law, this case is undoubtedly just the tip of the iceberg. But through its intimate footage, the film allows the audience to personally feel the pain of the victim's family and friends, prompting a profound reflection on the controversial law.
Trailer:
Synopsis:
Using bodycam footage from dozens of police visits, The Perfect Neighbor bears witness to a tight-knit community navigating one neighbor’s relentless harassment. But her hostility takes a sinister turn when it escalates into a fatal crime.
Photo and Source: Netflix