Series Review: "I Just Killed My Dad" (2022).

From Netflix and the director of Girl in the Picture comes I Just Killed My Dad. This crime documentary series directed by Skye Borgman. Anthony Templet shot his father and never denied it. But why he did is a complex question with profound implications that go far beyond one family.

Anthony Templet was a seventeen-year-old boy living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. More than three years ago, Anthony murdered his father. Anthony shot and killed his fifty three-year-old father, Burt Templet, on June 3, 2019. He confessed his crime while on the phone with a 911 operator. Burt died a few days after the shooting. Anthony told authorities that things escalated during an argument over Anthony's phone. Burt had apparently tried to go through the phone to see if Anthony had been in contact with Burt’s ex-wife, Susan Templet. Anthony said his father was drunk and tried to hit him, before he ran to his room and got out a gun. Anthony was arrested after murdering his father, although he said he killed Burt in self-defense. Anthony says that he suffered years of abuse from his father, and told police that his dad would beat him for hours, controlled his movements, and even installed cameras around their home to keep tabs on him. Burt also failed to send Anthony to school. Anthony was originally charged with second-degree murder, which was reduced to a manslaughter charge.

Not a whole lot better or a whole lot worse true crime documentary, but if this is your jam you'll probably find it compelling. This series marks another concisely-crafted form of cinema by director Borgman about the shocking subject of child abuse. The series is the rare documentary series that addresses that chasm between our expectations and the world's reality. A moving portrait of the victim and the truth he admitted, outlining his kind and lively personality told by him and the people who know him. Despite its flickers of unsavory tropes, the series is a well-made and deeply emotional true-crime story that keeps its victim foremost and tells his story rather than burying him in the grisly details. The series starts off like so many other true-crime stories of its ilk, but soon finds its moral footing and lands in a more moving, profound place. The film understands that, when it comes to real life tragedy and loss, the crime is not always (and probably shouldn’t be) the main attraction. The series is another captivating example of documentary storytelling, while also acting as a beautiful tribute to someone with so much potential and resilience that it crushes a small part of you that her life turned out the way it did. There is a great deal to unravel here, and Borgman has put together an impressively detailed profile of the case. In the end, there isn’t much to glean from the series other than that some people are abhorrent sociopaths that may make it more of a disheartening reminder than a revelation, but it doesn’t diminish its gut-wrenching potency.

Simon says I Just Killed My Dad receives:

Also, see my review for Girl in the Picture.