C
c_mulholland@nym.hush.com
Guest
The documentary was shown at the Roxy Theatre in San Francisco the second
week of March, 2008.
Here is a critique of the documentary from a San Francisco Chronicle film
editor.
The measure of this movie's success is that it can take something you
thought you knew all about and make you wonder. We all know Simpson did it,
don't we? The case is open and shut right? Well, maybe not. By
meticulously piling evidence on top of evidence, "The Overlooked Suspect:
O.J. Is Guilty, But Not of Murder" makes a convincing case for another
interpretation.
It's worth noting that "The Overlooked Suspect" was not made by a crank.
William C. Dear is a respected private investigator who, over a 35-year
career, has solved many high-profile cases. He first approached the Simpson
case assuming, like everyone else, that Simpson did it. But his
investigation soon took him in another direction.
Just offhand, ask yourself this: If Simpson practically decapitated his
ex-wife, how come he had only a microscopic trace of blood in his car and on
the white rug in his house. And if O.J. got into a brutal fight with Ron
Goldman, a strapping young man whose hands were found blistered from
punching his assailant, why did middle-aged Simpson not have a scratch on
him?
But this movie goes beyond making the case for why Simpson might not have
done it. It makes a full case for another suspect's guilt, a suspect that
the police, according to Dear, barely investigated. It's a suspect that
Simpson might have had an interest in protecting.
As a work of filmmaking, "The Overlooked Suspect" has its flaws. Its
biggest is that most of the key witnesses Dear talked to refused to appear
on camera.
However, having seen the documentary, I find it hard to imagine anyone
coming away from it believing that the police investigation was thorough and
conclusive. Rather it seems the L.A.P.D. had its suspect and looked no
further. If "The Overlooked Suspect" doesn't completely solve, beyond a
doubt, the Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman murders, it demonstrates that the
police haven't done so, either.
At the very least, "The Overlooked Suspect" is a convincing call for
reopening the case.
week of March, 2008.
Here is a critique of the documentary from a San Francisco Chronicle film
editor.
The measure of this movie's success is that it can take something you
thought you knew all about and make you wonder. We all know Simpson did it,
don't we? The case is open and shut right? Well, maybe not. By
meticulously piling evidence on top of evidence, "The Overlooked Suspect:
O.J. Is Guilty, But Not of Murder" makes a convincing case for another
interpretation.
It's worth noting that "The Overlooked Suspect" was not made by a crank.
William C. Dear is a respected private investigator who, over a 35-year
career, has solved many high-profile cases. He first approached the Simpson
case assuming, like everyone else, that Simpson did it. But his
investigation soon took him in another direction.
Just offhand, ask yourself this: If Simpson practically decapitated his
ex-wife, how come he had only a microscopic trace of blood in his car and on
the white rug in his house. And if O.J. got into a brutal fight with Ron
Goldman, a strapping young man whose hands were found blistered from
punching his assailant, why did middle-aged Simpson not have a scratch on
him?
But this movie goes beyond making the case for why Simpson might not have
done it. It makes a full case for another suspect's guilt, a suspect that
the police, according to Dear, barely investigated. It's a suspect that
Simpson might have had an interest in protecting.
As a work of filmmaking, "The Overlooked Suspect" has its flaws. Its
biggest is that most of the key witnesses Dear talked to refused to appear
on camera.
However, having seen the documentary, I find it hard to imagine anyone
coming away from it believing that the police investigation was thorough and
conclusive. Rather it seems the L.A.P.D. had its suspect and looked no
further. If "The Overlooked Suspect" doesn't completely solve, beyond a
doubt, the Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman murders, it demonstrates that the
police haven't done so, either.
At the very least, "The Overlooked Suspect" is a convincing call for
reopening the case.