It never ceases to amaze me how this saga can keep surprising us; it is packaged that well. The Robert “Bob” Durst story took us through his life and alleged crimes and now is taking us on the pursuit of justice to determine the unequivocal truths. Durst, naturally, is not all that cooperative. He may be frail by this point in his life, he may have bumbled from time to time – come on, unknowing admittance of guilt on a forgotten live clip-on microphone – but he is still wise enough to know when to play his cards, when to call on his friends and, as we see him here, already aware of how he must appear before a jury. He thinks he can beat this.
Episode # 8: “Friendships Die Hard”
The eighth installment of THE JINX has us entrenched in the prosecutor’s camp. We see the initial interrogation of Durst when he is brought in and how he stumbles & mumbles his way through the conversation. Truly his personal traits for sure, but are they played up here? His he playing them a bit? Also heavy in the installment is his recorded, both aurally and visually, phone conversations with his current wife Debrah Lee Charatan, and loyal friends Doug Oliver, Susan Giordano, and Nick “Chingu” Chavin. The prosecutions seek them out to hopefully have them assist in clinching a Durst confession.
Nick Chavin, Susan Berman and Robert Durst
In my mind, Robert Durst is put on the back burner for a fast moment because these supportive players take the show. You could not dig up a more absurd lot of people if you tried really hard. Where to begin? Well, Doug Oliver is seen the least and he comes across as arrogant and blunt. We see LA DA John Lewin call him, aided by reenactment and actual phone camera footage, to have Oliver appear highly offended that he is even being called on the carpet on the topic. Mr. Oliver bluntly states his unwillingness to cooperate and declares how dare they bother him. Lewin chuckles at him and reminds him that they will still see him no matter what when he is subpoenaed. Then there is Susan “Suzy” G. She is so loyal it is creepy. What is really creepy is her & Durst’s phone conversation of how he has granted her some of his funds to pay for their ‘love nest’ for when he gets out. She is willing to create a ‘love nest’? He trusts and loves her enough to think that will all happen. EWWWW!
John Lewin
Let me point out that John Lewin is not exempt from this absurd menagerie. He is a bit of an odd character as well. He comes across as filled with too much piss & vinegar, as someone a bit too full of himself. He’s cocky and thinks of himself as a hot dog that can walk in and bust chops. It makes for interesting TV but colors Lewin as a bit of an asshole just like most of the players in this saga. Lewin, keep up the shit because it is amusing but you might not realize that it shines unfavorably on your personality, as if you’d care.
younger and older Nick Chavin
That leaves Nick Chavin. He was a good friend of both Durst and the deceased Susan Berman. Okay, as the show points out, Durst likely had friends because some would relish a friendship with a multi-millionaire, but this Chavin is a piece of work in himself. Back in the 1970’s he was the top performer of Country Porn music! Who even knew that was a genre? “Cum Stain on the Pillow” was his big hit and we get a look at this song and his career here. Man, can’t make this up. Plus he is quoted as saying in relationship to Durst…”“I don’t have that moral hatred of …murderers…” What? The man is torn about spilling the beans about Durst as they were loyal friends and “friendships die hard,” which has been pulled as the quote to title this installment. If it weren’t for Chavin’s wife Terry any concrete lead in the case might have died. She came forth to say that Nick indeed knew something something about Robert and that he best step forward to admit it. Jarecki kept the camera on her for as long as he could and on her husband as well as he was about to offer his admission… but the hour was up. What does he know?
We will continue with the third installment next time. HBOWatch won’t miss it.
