Unlimitedia Sick Product of a Sick System

MonsterPerfect Good idea lost in the noise

SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

ghosthardware So, this film is obviously polarizing based on the reviews here. I felt compelled to write my own review because I think the film would make more sense if we thought of it as a social experiment and not a documentary. If you're looking for a typical documentary experience, or even looking for more information on the Jonbenet Ramsey murder, you're going to be disappointed. Some may even be incensed by what they watch in this film.As others have stated, the basic premise involves a group of local actors in or near the Boulder, CO area who are "auditioning" to portray the people involved in this case. Right off the bat, this description is misleading, as these actors are not industry professionals, but rather people who work as actors but are essentially regular people. And this auditioning process we see in the film is actually the role itself. This aspect was the first to make an impact with me. The decision to use these local actors is ingenious. As actors, they're able to immerse themselves in the character and speculate on what their character may have been thinking or feeling during the events that took place. However, they're also not so professional that they won't open up and begin chatting about their own theories. The thoughts flow naturally and the actors speak freely. We see this organic flow of thought when these people are placed in their "roles", essentially placing them within the mystery itself. We see a group of people who already have civilian knowledge of this case who are speculating on a mystery, while also projecting their own personal experiences, resulting in a wildly fluctuating and differing opinion of what they think may have happened and why. And this is exactly what we, the public, did back in the 90s.I was a freshman in college when the Jonbenet Ramsey murder occurred. The media storm that followed was intense. In 1996 and 1997, most people were still getting their news via newspaper, magazine and television. It seemed every publication had a Jonbenet story, in every issue. These media outlets were all trying to "out-scoop" each other by finding details or clues that their competitor may not have. This resulted in a media free-for-all and a fight for sales. There were/are so many blanks to fill in regarding this girl's murder and yet, there were also so many details being released to and scrutinized by the press, and we the public couldn't help falling into the same game. It's human nature to want to know the answer to a compelling mystery, especially one such as this. It's also not unusual for the human brain to try to fill gaps in information in an effort to decipher something which is incomplete and impossible to solve definitively. It's faulty thinking in the sense that the information we use to fill those gaps is manufactured and colored by our own personal experiences, opinions, and attitudes. The actors in the film projected their own experiences to form many differing theories. And that's what happened back in '96/'97. I count myself among them. These actors, strange or narcissistic or gossipy as they may seem, are all of us.I think some of the negative reviews here are a bit contradictory and missing the point. One reviewer said the film "seemed like it could add a new layer of commentary to a tired, old story" and was disappointed when that didn't seem to happen. Well...this isn't just a "story" and just because it's old doesn't mean it's "tired". This murder case isn't, and never was, a story for our personal consumption. It holds our fascination for the reality and shocking nature of the crime. But searching for additional meaning or commentary about the case or murder is pointless because there is none. This film doesn't seek to shed new light on the murder. It's shining the light on us and it isn't the most flattering light. We watch films about this little girl because we all have some sort of morbid curiosity about her or the murder. How could we not when the news would publish photos of Jonbenet's body showing the little marks on her skin that were supposedly caused by a stun gun? We were given so much that it drove our imaginations. Often, discussions about the case would begin with, "Well, if that were me..." or "I would never..." We projected. We interjected ourselves into this mystery and chatted with friends and co-workers about the ransom note or the suitcase under the window. We were torn between our intense desire for justice and our own morbid fascination. I use some of the negative reviews here as example because on the one hand, these negative reviews say how morbid and exploitative it was to watch such blase attitudes about a little girl's murder, while in the same review complaining that they didn't get what they wanted out of the film. And this is exactly what I'm talking about. Some people watch this film hoping to get something more about the case, something to fill whatever void they may have in this mystery. But isn't that our own exploitative nature being exposed? For these people, I would advise finding a more traditional documentary that will discuss all the details and facts. And after viewing it, I challenge any viewer who didn't witness the frenzy in the 90s to not create your own theory or speculate on at least one person involved. It's what we all did and continue to do and I think some of the negative reviews miss the contradiction.As a result, the actual murder case, the real people involved and any real facts fall to the wayside in this film. It's haunting in the way the actual case and Jonbenet herself seem like fading background photographs in this wildly colorful montage. I think it is here where the film's statement lies. When someone says, "This case took on a life of its own", I think this is what they're referring to. The public became so enmeshed in the tedium and sensationalism that the case itself fades into the background. Our theories, colored by our own experiences, feed the frenzy until you're left with what looks like a vapid, exploitative pony show. I think this is why there are so many reviews stating this film is pointless or exploitative. But that is the reality of what happened in this country in '96/'97. We all had an opinion, a theory. We personalized it. And we all just spoke up about what WE thought occurred. We became armchair detectives and regurgitated "case facts" that we read here or there like we knew what any of it meant. In an effort to satisfy our own curiosity, we interjected ourselves into the narrative and essentially took it away from the actual people involved. I think this film portrays that perfectly.

ihavemykids If I could give it 0 stars I would. This is nothing but a group of the most ignorant people speculating the murder of an innocent little girl. The truth is, no one knows the exact truth of what happened to this little girl. To have people running their mouths about opinions that don't matter and will never change the past is a huge waste of time. I truly believe this family was torn apart and destroyed over and over again, the first time by the loss of their little one, and then continuously by the media and the public is a shame. I'm sorry I watched this. Don't bother

Robb C. The unsolved death of six-year-old American beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey remains the world's most sensational child murder case. Over 15 months, responses, reflections, and performances were elicited from the Ramsey's Colorado hometown community, creating a work of art from the collective memories and mythologies the crime inspired in Green's new documentary, Casting JonBenet.Casting JonBenet does not play it in the conventional fashion. Kitty Green tackles the details of the case not like a detective crime episode, but on how the universe responds and reacts to such a horrible crime. It has an audition style, just people coming and going, auditioning for different roles to people who have been involved with the case, them reciting the lines and reacting to it. It acts like a study of how a myriad of people relate to and rationalize different aspects of tragedy based on their own personal experiences. It's not merely a small-scale story of just the death of a little girl in Colorado, it's a wide-scale phenomena; how varying forms of tragedy can affect and traumatize beings in their own distinct way. The concept on how the execution brings together different views about love, grief, sorrow, and hate perfectly blends together. All that said and done, this documentary may feel pretty hollow at times. It sometimes feels repetitive, an experiment on actors sharing their opinions and theories of who they think murdered JonBenet. It's strange because although this is a documentary, things still felt quite open and vague. I do know that this is an unsolved case, but I think it's weird for me to research information about the case after watching a documentary about it. I do admire its originality; however, it would've been better if it included more objective facts than subjective opinions. Saying this may be ironic because it just contradicted the last paragraph on how I praised it because it doesn't try to give answers about the case, but I would like it more if it was balanced. If it perfectly crosses the line between bias and unbiased. It just didn't.Casting JonBenet is still worth a watch despite it being dodgy at times. It is not more of a documentary but an opinion piece, examining how JonBenet's death affected the public and how the case is viewed now, just over 20 years later. It never gives any clear answer, it just leaves the viewer to come up with their own conclusion about the case. In my eyes, this is not a question as to whodunnit at all, but it is about society, and how the hometown community opens up their personal and raw feelings on the matter, tying together a beautiful portrait of tragedy and sympathy.

jabailey911 I didn't get through the first episode. Was very very disturbing that they made this show. It seems that they are milking the tragedy of this little girl's death for all the profit they can get out of it. Whats worse is they are attempting to add a touch of comedy to it. They stooped way too low on this one. Sick, tasteless, immoral, are words that come to mind trying to watch this. And yes this is the on;y review I've done. I don't usually do reviews but I had to speak up about this. Its that bad and unconscionable.