What Is the Story About?
The second season of Monsters, puts the spotlight on the Menendez brothers – Lyle and Erik, who were proven guilty of killing their parents – Jose and Kitty, while they were asleep in 1989. Though the prosecution claimed the true motive behind the murders was the inheritance, the brothers alleged they did it to avenge the abuse they’d suffered in their parents’ hands for years.
Performances?
Besides his smashingly good looks, Nicholas Alexander Chavez brings much-needed impulsiveness and mystery to the portrayal of Lyre Menendez – whose costly mistake denies the brother duo any remote opportunity of escaping scot-free from the case. He’s in the formidable company of Cooper Koch, as the screen-writing enthusiast who smartly masks his dual persona to his advantage.
Javier Bardem is as authoritarian as he can get, stepping into the shoes of Jose Menendez with steely resilience, making sense of the various contrasting dimensions in the character’s persona. Chloe Sevigny is impressive while embodying the emptiness a woman could experience in an unhappy marriage. Nathan Lane has a warm screen presence, while the likes of Ari Graynor, Dallas Roberts, Leslie Grossman make the most of their limited appearances.
Analysis
After ‘The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’, Monsters is back for a new season, focusing on an infamous twin murder within a ‘supposedly’ dysfunctional family. While Jose and Kitty Menendez shot their parents when they were asleep – the show debates the motive behind the killings and the complex turns that the legal trial took over seven years, until the duo was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1996.
If there was one word that could describe the docudrama, it could be deception and we mean it in a good way. The narrative toys around with your head – shifting its loyalties delicately from one version to the other, jumping timelines, teasing you with its idea of ‘truth’, confounding you with its revelations. The material is so sensationalistic that you’re helplessly sucked into a viciously compelling loop.
Of the 9 episodes spanning 8-odd hours, the brothers initially project themselves as victims and how they were left with little choice but to kill their parents. The screenplay and the racy editing are hypnotic enough to nearly empathise with their stance – as the brothers recall traumatic episodes from their unhappy childhood under an abusive father and an indifferent mother.
Given the various controversies around their orientation and the narrative around the abuse, the creators take ample liberty to lend a hyper-sexualised exterior to the proceedings. It’s almost they pretending to say – ‘if you can’t handle the story, you can distract yourself with their abs, good looks and the love making.’ Giving credit where it’s due, the writing and performances are equally sharp.
After a riveting start, Monsters is at its nail-biting best when it tries to provide a birds-eye perspective of the incident, stepping into the parents’ shoes. Though the story of the brothers’ abuse remains unproven, Jose is ultimately portrayed as a father who was disappointed with their sons, who eventually turned out to be entitled brats. One only feels sorry for the mother over time.
The show is slightly shaky as the legal drama takes precedence – the material runs out of juice after a point, just like how Dominick Dunne points out – ‘The Menendez brothers are now the has-beens in the US. People have moved on.’ Their manipulations, the newer developments in the case and the tussles with the lawyers get tiring even as the writers, do their best in retaining its complexity on screen.
While there’s a disclaimer about the alleged abuse that the brothers may have experienced in their childhood, the show strategically takes the side of the parents as it reaches the culmination. Of course, there are no saints in this case. The world craves the narrative of ‘two privileged kids paying for their sins’, but the show tries to handle the material with reasonable sensitivity.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is not an easy watch at all, but boy, it leaves a strong imprint in your mind, serving as a testimony to the beastly side of the human psyche. Though the exhaustive length may make you feel otherwise, give this show a chance to understand the world from various dimensions through the victims in a dysfunctional family.
Music and Other Departments?
Julia and Thomas Newman deliver the goods with a stellar atmospheric music score that encapsulates the ecstasy, tension, anxiety and thrill in the lives of the complex protagonists. Cinematographers Jason McCormick and Barry Baz Idoine mount the show gorgeously – which is a perfect marriage of opulence, fantastic production design and costume design. However, it’s the innovative editing and structuring that elevates the scope of the show and adds more bite to the proceedings.
Highlights?
Terrific, twisty screenplay
Superb performances
Gorgeously shot, technical finesse
Drawbacks?
Loses its spunk in the latter half of the show
The legal drama needed more bite
A slightly convenient culmination
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes
Will You Recommend It?
Sure, if you’re in the mood for dark docudramas
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story Series Review by Binged Bureau
We’re hiring!
We are hiring two full-time junior to mid-level writers with the option to work remotely. You need to work a 5-hour shift and be available to write. Interested candidates should email their sample articles to [email protected]. Applications without a sample article will not be considered.
