The Staircase (HBO)

Started by wilder, March 29, 2022, 04:34:21 PM

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wilder


Based on a true story, THE STAIRCASE explores the life of Michael Peterson (Firth), his sprawling North Carolina family, and the suspicious death of his wife, Kathleen Peterson (Collette).

Directed by Antonio Campos (Christine)
Inspired by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade's documentary of the same name
Premieres May 5, 2022 on HBO Max

polkablues

I'm just here for the killer owl theories.

My house, my rules, my coffee

wilder

The Seventh Continent (1989)












"The Staircase"















wilder

This surpassed my expectations by leaps and bounds: in directorial style, in narrative approach. It has the best cast in a miniseries, maybe ever? I didn't know what they could do with it given that the documentary is over 10 hours long and seemingly covers so much ground, but to my delight and surprise this diverges from what we already knew about two thirds of the way in and becomes its own animal. Campos' promise as a filmmaker really comes to fruition here.

There were some salty reactions from both the documentary filmmakers and Michael Peterson himself, this past month. Peterson's take is as poetic as always:

Quote from: Michael PetersonWhile de Lestrade maintains that he was paid just €7,500 ($9370) for the materials he sold to Campos, Peterson asserts that the director should have been wary of the deal and concerned for the Peterson family. He also claims that the filmmaker received significantly more than that amount.

"Jean should have known that when you sell your ass/property, you assume the risk of getting fucked/betrayed," Peterson says. "Every hooker knows this. So he got betrayed/fucked. Why should he be surprised? He was compensated — paid off. But we didn't sell our story to Campos — were never even consulted or informed that Jean had done this. We are the ones who were betrayed, falsely depicted as fighting among ourselves (which NEVER happened), and with made up story lines that denigrate all of us in the eyes of millions."

I know JB had said (in reaction to the documentary) that Michael was obviously guilty. I was never as confident in that, given the myriad of unknowns. The HBO series pushes the idea that he's always hiding "something", even if not related to Kathleen's death, itself. "He seems like he's lying even when he's telling the truth" one character says. That feeling made it hard to conclude anything, for me. Almost as if a hypothetical murder was incidental in the life of Michael Peterson and wouldn't necessarily change his bizarre behavior, at all.

The HBO version indicates towards a specific conclusion, which feels right. A middle ground, maybe. But it also feels like it was in front of your face the whole time, and Michael's spiderweb just obscured it.

Anyway, highly, highly recommended. They fucking nailed it.

wilberfan

Quote from: wilder on June 12, 2022, 04:37:21 AMAnyway, highly, highly recommended. They fucking nailed it.

I agree with your entire assessment.  I think the only thing not in doubt is that Michael is a piece of work.

Jeremy Blackman

Potential spoilers?

What sold me on Michael's guilt (in the doc) was the physical evidence – the blood splatter and amount of blood. Does this show get into those details?

wilder

Very, very much so. It's a huge narrative thread.