The Perfect Neighbor

Gandbhir could have arranged all of this like a book report with a foregone conclusion, yet she trusts in the truth of this story and the intelligence of her audience to pull apart the necessary history and sociopolitical context of it all.

The climax, in which police slowly drag the truth out of the central figure, is harrowing.

Exclusively culled from police-cam footage, this outstandingly crafted, Oscar-buzzed documentary examines a white Florida woman who murders her Black neighbor on the basis of a stand-your-ground law that indicts an entire society

I’m not convinced that we have the moral right to watch some of these scenes and to witness a tiny traumatised boy at his most bereft and alone. Still, it’s an outstanding, provocative film that is bound to inspire debate. Watch it and discuss.

A first-hand retelling of how easily racism can become deadly, The Perfect Neighbor is one of the most compelling documents of how inherently dangerous it is for Black people to exist in America today.

I point this out not to exonerate Lorincz in any way—goodness knows that the sheriff’s investigation in the doc’s final third gives her outrageously more leeway than a Black suspect would receive. Still in monsterizing her in this way, The Perfect Neighbor lets viewers off the hook.

As a way of capturing the horrors of that night, the spareness of the film-making is powerful. But in terms of giving us the full picture, it falls short.

‘The Perfect Neighbor’ is another reminder of how racism uses the system to its advantage to perpetuate itself in the U.S.A. Showcasing an outstanding editing work, which effectively manages the tension, this documentary assembles a collection of police body-cam footage that builds a gripping story about black people being confronted with the terrible fact that the law will not always protect them. Hope Susan Lorincz rots in prison.

"The Perfect Neighbor" is a visceral jaw dropping documentary on the unjust police system of America. Relying mostly on gripping police bodycam footage, it's a simple spectacle of children at play, it seems, is all it takes to transform a patch of American suburbia into a gaping, microcosmic wound of racism, paranoia, aggression, mental illness, and gun violence. It also reveals how a violent tragedy can be unwittingly manifested by unchecked grievance and a law that weaponizes white fear more than it guards anyone’s peace.

This is likely to be seen as an unpopular assessment, for a variety of reasons and regardless of where one stands on the issues presented in this release. Director Geeta Gandbhir’s Netflix documentary examines the question of using potentially fatal force for self-protection under controversial state statutes known as Stand Your Ground laws. In particular, the film explores a 2023 case in Marion County, Florida in which resident Susan Lorincz shot and killed neighbor Ajike Owens by firing at her through the closed and locked front door of her home after claiming that she feared for her life when the victim allegedly began pounding angrily and relentlessly on the entrance to the structure. According to Lorincz, the incident – one in a long series of altercations with local residents in which she had complained to authorities of repeated trespassing and harassment (mostly by neighborhood children and despite signs warning of no trespassing on her property) – was the result of a purported panic response, primarily driven by traumatic experiences from her past that had left an indelible mark on her for years afterward. The neighbors, however, contended that this incident, as well as those that preceded it, were cases of reaction overreach, this time with deadly consequences. In telling this story, the filmmaker employs a unique approach, relying almost exclusively on law enforcement body cam footage recorded during visits to Lorincz’s residence at the time of reported incidents, supplemented by televised news reports and interrogation video taken when the perpetrator was taken into custody for questioning. This material was thus designed to give viewers an actual “you are there” feel to the storytelling (even if it occasionally plays like an episode of "COPS") rather than resorting to the interpretations of analysts and pundits who may have had their own agendas to carry out. However, no matter how fair-minded that narrative decision might be, it should be noted that this on-the-ground footage, like all other recorded material, can also be edited (evidenced here by some occasionally choppy cuts in the footage). And, as this offering plays out, one can’t help but get the sense that viewers are not necessarily being told the entire story from both sides. No matter how authentic this material might come across, it nevertheless feels potentially incomplete (such as where references to Lorincz’s history of trauma is concerned), despite the inclusion of otherwise-seemingly conclusive video evidence, material that, at least superficially, would appear to leave little to chance. That’s important to bear in mind in light of the documentary’s apparent intent of providing its audience with a teachable moment about the merits, ethics and employment of Stand Your Ground laws. What’s more, the depiction of the gut-wrenching grief of the Owens family in response to their loss is undeniably powerful, revelatory and moving, but at times it also has a certain exploitative and overly intrusive quality to it. The same could be said of Lorincz’s responses to her interrogation sessions, which go on longer than genuinely seems necessary. This is not to suggest that the behavior on display in these moments can or should be condoned – in some regards, from all parties connected to this scenario, including those associated with some of the content choices of the filmmaker – because there truly are no winners in this situation. Indeed, it’s a horrendous tragedy all the way around, a story that never should have had to have been told in the first place, the production’s Independent Spirit Award nomination for best documentary notwithstanding. I suppose it’s nevertheless something that ultimately had to see the light of day; it’s just a shame that it had to happen that way.

O tema é urgente, sobre a animosidade de nossas relações comunais e societais, lidando com a multiculturalidade de uma vizinhança. A necessidade de diálogo é urgente. Exercer a aleteridade é urgente. O tema sobre o racismo até demora a chegar, tendo em vista a organicidade do projeto, onde basicamente houve um trabalho de edição e montagem, baseando toda a história em imagens captadas por câmeras. Mas me pergunto também o quão espetacularizado foi esse todo, sem pudor algum em mostrar identidades (exceto alguns rostos com distorção), cujo crime passa por espécie de lixamento, ainda que saibamos que uma mulher negra não receberia o mesmo tratamento da polícia. Filme produto de uma mídia do século XXI, um reality show, o que pode diminuir qualquer representação artística mais aprofundada, criticamente falando.

​A sad and deeply frustrating watch. This is a depressing, hopeless story about the gross negligence of the police, who would rather appease and coddle unruly hooligans than do their jobs. On the other side is a lonely, defenseless elderly woman, desperately trying to preserve her privacy and basic safety. What’s most infuriating is how the filmmakers deliberately construct a narrative that completely exonerates the abusers, absolving them of any real responsibility for the resulting tragedy. I haven't seen a film this heavily biased and one-sided in a long time.