First of all, I saw this movie when it aired on television and it was a two part mini-series. The cast is first rate with Ronny Cox and Marg Helgenberger as the Ramseys. Jane Powell as the dance teacher. Ann-Margret as Nedra Volz, Patsy's mom and JonBenet's grandmother. Kris Kristofferson is perfect playing Lou Smit, the detective who believes that a stranger did it and not the Ramseys. There were lots of interesting performances like Sean Whalin playing the tabloid reporter, Jeff Shapiro, who would have converted to Episcopalian in order to get his story. There are others like Anne Sward who played the neighbor. The two part mini-series was disturbing at times and realistically tried to bring the true events of the situation to life. Sadly, the crime has never been solved and never will be. Patsy is gone. She died of cancer. The Grand Jury has pretty much cleared the Ramseys because there wasn't enough evidence to go to trial in the first place.
May 20, 2007 |  | Chilling recreation of the JonBenet media circus |  |
Who killed JonBenet Ramsey? A lot of folks would say, "Who cares?" I understand that point of view since I'm the sort of person who spends a lot of time complaining about the media covering this stuff in lieu of important issues. But I'm also the sort of individual who likes to read about true crime. The JonBenet Ramsey case, still unsolved over ten years later, ranks as one of the most gripping murder mysteries in recent memory. Yes, the media went nuts over the murder of this little girl in Boulder, Colorado all those years ago. Yes, the media spent an inordinate amount of time covering the most lurid details of both the murder and the Ramsey family. Yes, the media invented "facts" out of thin air in their rush to pass judgment and their clamor for ratings. None of that takes away from the sheer strangeness, the utter creepiness, of the crime in question. The murder of JonBenet Ramsey is one of the weirdest, scariest crimes I've ever read about. Even when you jettison the media hysteria, what's left chills the blood. Did the parents commit the crime, or did an intruder perpetrate the dastardly deed? We may never know.
I decided to watch the made for television movie "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town" after reading Lawrence Schiller's book of the same name. In fact, Schiller directed this film version of his comprehensive examination of all aspects of the Ramsey crime. The movie starts before the murder, around Christmas 1996, as we see the Ramsey clan--mother Patsy (Marg Helgenberger), father John (Ronny Cox), son Burke (Tyler Sharp), and JonBenet (Dyanne Iandoli)--out celebrating in true holiday spirit. You know the routine: picking up presents, window shopping, etc. We even see John running across the street after the kids hit the sack in order to pick up a bicycle he bought as a present. Then the nightmare begins when Patsy wakes up the day after Christmas and finds the infamous ransom note spread across the bottom steps of the staircase. The movie moves into an almost documentary style production as the police, friends of the family, and assorted other people arrive at the Ramsey house to await the phone call from the kidnappers. The film makes it abundantly clear that the Boulder police department failed to secure the crime scene, a fatal mistake helped fuel the media circus that was soon to follow.
It's tough to watch the recreation of the discovery of the little girl's body and the hysterics that followed. Very tough. Just as agonizing to watch is the rest of the movie, which focuses on the increasing tensions between the Ramsey family, the Boulder cops, and the District Attorney's office. As the investigation ramps up, as the cops start conducting interviews with family friends, troubling questions arise. Even more troubling is the discovery that John and Patsy Ramsey have "lawyered up," and now refuse to answer the investigator's questions. Not good. Then we've got the tension between the cops and district attorney Alex Hunter (Ken Howard) and his underling Peter Hofstrom (Peter Friedman). They refuse to go forward with the case until the cops collect enough evidence to guarantee a conviction. Detective Steve Thomas (Scott Cohen) thinks he can prove the Ramseys' guilt. The city prosecutors disagree. Gridlock ensues as the media swarm hits a fever pitch. Reporters don't help the situation any, as witnessed by the activities of tabloid journalist Jeff Shapiro (Sean Whalen). Yet ANOTHER factor complicating the case involves the Ramsey family hiring their own investigator, former police detective Lou Smit (Kris Kristofferson), to come up with a theory that is at odds with the Boulder Police Department.
"Perfect Murder, Perfect Town" does not offer us a definitive answer as to who killed JonBenet. We get two scenarios, the intruder theory and the RDI (Ramseys did it) theory, and we have to choose which one we think is the most viable. Good luck. As the film shows, convincing evidence exists to bolster both theories. I didn't really expect the movie to add something more to the JonBenet story, though. It's essentially a faithful adaptation of the book, which means the focus of the story quickly shifts from "whodunit" to the complex dynamics between the interested parties. The murder soon drops into the background as politics and media madness take center stage. When I reviewed Schiller's book, I think I wrote something about how the author used the story of a gruesome murder in a well-to-do family as a means of telling a larger truth about society. If I didn't, I will now. "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town" the book and the movie show us how an out of control media can seriously undermine not only a murder investigation but our institutions as well. It becomes quickly apparent that the media, as much if not more so than the inept investigation at the crime scene, helped undermine the search to find JonBenet's killer.
I liked the film version of "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town". Schiller shot on Boulder locations as much as possible, and the number of recognizable faces here boggles the mind. Aside from those actors and actresses mentioned above, we also see Ann-Margret in the role of Patsy's mother Nedra, Jane Powell as JonBenet's dance instructor, and John Heard as Detective Larry Mason. Everyone associated with the production does a bang up job with his or her parts, although I think Marg Helgenberger often descended into pure camp as the histrionic Patsy Ramsey. Then again, anyone who's read about or seen the late Patsy Ramsey in action has to conclude that the woman came across as an over the top personality, so maybe Helgenberger's performance was spot on. I suggest that everyone interested in the case run out and give "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town" a watch.
May 19, 2007| | | Good, but very sad movie. | |
I always believed the Ramseys killed their daughter so I wanted to watch the movie to see how it was portrayed. The movie convinced me even more. It was very good, but there is one part that really bothered me....where they brought the little girl out of the basement after she had been murdered and she was stiff as a board. I know that is how it was in real life, but that scene bothered me for days. My daughter was about her age when I watched the movie so I know that is why it tore me up so bad. The actors in the movie did very well and the movie was well written.
March 28, 2006| | | Perfect Murder, Pefect Town | |
The acting was great, ( I LOVE Kris Kristofferson) the story was broken down and told very well. The maddening thing is I guess we will never know who killed that beautiful, defenseless little girl. The brother was almost completely left out of the story. (?) Good DVD! The directors cut was great, (wish the director could have spoken just a bit less about himself!) full of interesting info.
March 6, 2006I think this movie is great! I strongly believe that the Ramseys' killed their daughter and this movie allows others to see how my view may be correct. I can go on forever about this case but since it is christmas time and the ninth anniversary of her death is coming I will leave on a positive note. This movie really gives us an idea of our blessed her six years here really were.
December 23, 2005More reviews at Amazon.com ...
Daily Birthdays
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