Yeah, I know this isn’t timely, but consistent weekly viewing habits just can’t happen for me. If you are engrossed in this true crime like I am though, you’ll stick with me here. We are up to the fourth installment of the second season in the Robert Durst saga. If you are like me, you may remember some highlights when the case this show examines played out in real-time. It is great to sit back after the fact and have it all coalesce for us with the precision and theatrics Andrew Jarecki gives. In fact, as of this writing, we know that THE JINX PART TWO has received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Picture Editing, Outstanding Writing, and Outstanding Documentary. It is well-told and this episode draws us in a bit more.
The quote is dropped that Robert Durst is the ‘unluckiest man in the world’ and if that’s the case he has no one to blame but himself. He alone has made bad decisions. He had a life as a multi-millionaire businessman and chucked that life when he did away with his first wife Kathie Durst and the subsequent actions afterward just compounded it. Why he even agreed to cooperate in THE JINX is beyond me because millions of intense scrutinizing eyes were now upon him. Sloppy mistakes added up from the infamous forgotten live microphone, donning masks to slip away, misspelling keywords that came back to bite him, and trusting friends on the minutest of truths. The only luck he may have had, you could say, is that he dodged it all as long as he did. But now, he is in the throes of a trial and the prosecution is relentless.
This episode sees another husband & wife come into play. Last time we looked at Nick & Terry Chavin. He hemmed & hawed about taking the stand, but finally did so under the insistence of his wife Terry, who had tipped off the prosecution that her husband just might have something to say. He did, but it didn’t end up all that damning. Now we have Stewart & Emily Altman; the couple were good friends of Robert Durst through the years. They were called by the defense as character witnesses for Durst and well, it didn’t turn out so well.
One complaint I must cite Jarecki for here is that the filmmaker wanted to give screen-time to this part of the story, this set of witnesses, because it perpetuates the notion of Durst’s guilt in all matters. But, he quickly skirts over screentime for another possible suspect in the case of Susan Berman! And while we’re at it, the defense skirted over this suspect also, instead of helping to raise the question of reasonable doubt it would cast on Durst’s charges. Hey, I’m not rooting for Robert Durst here, just calling out missed opportunities. The second suspect was just quickly ignored here. His name is Nyle Brenner (pictured) and he was a lead suspect. Brenner, an entertainment manager, had Berman as a client and supposedly had a contentious relationship with her. Could he have gotten tired of arguing back & forth with Berman and killed her? He wrote his name in big block letters that also made it “highly probable” that he could have written the cadaver note, he failed a polygraph test, and he snuck into Berman’s house through a kitchen window after it had been taped off as a crime scene. A suspicious man indeed, quickly ignored, as I must do here, as he didn’t fit the scenario everyone wanted to run with.
The focus is on the Altmans. Mr. A. plays his role too well for the defense. He is not cooperative with the prosecution at all but takes it to an extreme when he constantly starts to complain that he doesn’t understand the questions being asked of him or isn’t sure of which definition of a particular word is meant. It is all quite absurd and as a lawyer, Altman knew just how to stall, be vague, and be a thorn in the side of the prosecution despite their persistence. Mrs. A. did, however, cave under the relentless scrutiny. One key factor Lewin and his team needed was getting Durst somewhere close to the scene of the crime. They knew he was tagged in San Francisco in December of that year, but it needed him to be in Los Angeles. Under pressure, she confides that Durst was at the Beverly Hilton in LA at the time of the murder. That proves a crucial play for Lewin’s side and a panic for Durst. So much so that Durst goes against counsel to admit to the cadaver note & commits to taking the stand.
That makes us eager to catch the fifth installment. Check back with HBOWatch as we discuss what happens when he takes the stand. THE JINX – nothing beats the twists & turns of true crime!