New looks at the Menendez Brothers sparks controversy
The release of Netflix’s new hit series, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” and the subsequent documentary, “The Menendez Brothers”, has sparked a revival of interest in the murder case of Jose and Mary “Kitty” Menendez. On Aug. 20, 1989, brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez shot and killed their parents at their Beverly Hills home, drawing national attention due to the nature of the crimes. Prior to the murders, the Menendez family was prominent within their community and led a seemingly idyllic and wealthy lifestyle. However, this preconception was further destroyed by a shocking claim made in court that Jose Menendez had physically and sexually abused his sons. This fall, Netflix released their series depicting a controversially fictionalized version of the murder case and later a documentary narrated by Erik and Lyle, which highlight different aspects of the crime, but not without nuances in both works of media.
“Monsters” succeeds the first project of this genre created by Ryan Murphy, “Dahmer: Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.” Personally, we don’t believe the Menendez brothers should be categorized with Dahmer, a serial killer who notoriously tortured and ate his victims, because their crime was one motivated by their abusive homelife- not something as sinister as cannibalism. Also, in the next “Monsters” series, Ryan Murphy intends to highlight the story of Ed Gein, another infamous serial killer who murdered and mutilated many of his victims. Murphy’s association of the Menendez brothers with the gruesomeness of Dahmer’s cannibalism and Gein’s atrocities insinuates that the siblings are just as insidious, something we staunchly disagree with. The brothers clearly do not belong in this “Monsters” category.
The show’s casting was outstanding, with Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez and Nicholas Chavez as Lyle Menendez. Both actors put on an amazing performance, but Koch’s talent is particularly showcased in the fifth episode when he accounts for the abuse his character faces in a continuous 33-minute shot. Not only were the actors great in playing their roles, but many striked a great resemblance to their respective character, specifically Ari Graynor as Leslie Abramson who was Erik Menendez’s defense attorney. Not to mention, the music in the series was also interesting as it brought back old artists that were popular at the time.
Although the acting and cast were fantastic, the show was inaccurate in numerous parts of the story, as well as how the brothers were portrayed. In the show, the boys were depicted as spoiled, arrogant and violent kids who murdered their parents for financial gain. However, in an interview with USA Today, the boys explain how they feel their portrayal mischaracterized them and made them seem like bad people. The show also left out and changed specific details involving the murder and what happened before and after the incident. Although the series was fascinating and emotional, it had several inaccurate components leaving viewers wanting to do their own research and learn about the case.
On Oct. 7, 2024, Netflix released the 116-minute-long documentary, “The Menendez Brothers.” The documentary relies heavily on footage from the first trial which was televised on Court T.V. and also the narration of the brothers along with journalists, lead prosecutor of the first trial Pamela Bozanich, family members, jurors from the trials, psychiatrists and defense experts. In our opinion, the interviews of various people close to the case provided a level of credibility to the claims made by the brothers. For example, Kitty’s sisters’ thoughts supported the details that the brothers recounted concerning the abuse they suffered by including situations the sisters witnessed first-hand. However, the documentary noticeably lacked an interview from Erik’s attorney Leslie Abramson, who received media attention for her participation in the trials. We believe her perspective would have provided more depth to the film due to her closeness to the case and personal relationships with Erik and Lyle. The documentary focused on providing an overview of the case and utilized interviews to vocalize key points. However, we feel that there was an overall lack of depth when it came to the substance of the film, as the brothers and other interviewees only provided surface-level commentary. We found that none of the information recounted was particularly profound or not already well-known to anyone familiar with the case, leaving us to believe that this documentary was more of an introduction to the basic facts. While this could potentially be a good angle, the fact that this film includes the Menendez brothers’ first interview together in almost 30 years makes us feel as though it is almost a waste of such a rare occasion. The documentary itself was also quite standard in its filmography and commentary, which makes for a good, but also boring, documentary.
With the recent popularity of the Menendez brothers case, new evidence has come to light. A letter written by Erik to Andy Cano, his cousin. This letter was written months before the murder and confirms the sexual abuse claim made by the brothers. Also, a member of Menudo, Roy Rosselló, has come forward and claims he was sexually molested by Jose Menendez. Currently the case is being re-evaluated and the next hearing is set for November 2024.
