Hamburg learns about his mother’s struggles with alcoholism, a trait that ran in her family he learns about the harsh relationship between Conway and Hamburg’s sister Ali, resulting in Conway believing in her heart that Ali murdered Barbara. At one point Hamburg’s aunt, Conway, tells him she fears the truth will cause him to hate her - and it’s easy to see why. It also serves as the springboard towards examining the façade that is often viewed throughout family photos, memories, and, yes, documentaries in this genre.Īlmost like an Agatha Christie novel, nearly every single person in Barbara Hamburg’s life had motive to murder her. The sheer amount of archival video of the late Barbara Beach Hamburg and her family is beautiful, warm, and heartbreaking on its own merits. He reminds those he interviews that he has to ask tough questions - “Did you have anything to do with my mother’s murder?” being the most obvious - but more importantly, that he wants to learn about his mother as a woman. Starting the project as a college student, the audience sees Hamburg as a confused but passionate young man who’s been through the wringer, both personally and emotionally. Where true crime documentaries tend to focus on the crime itself, Hamburg nimbly balances the story between his mother’s murder and also his own discussions with his family about her life. There’s a feeling watching Hamburg start on his journey that’s reminiscent of Kurt Kuenne’s 2008 documentary “Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father” in that both use a horrific murder in order to pay tribute to a life cut short. His goal, initially, is to find out who his mother was as a person, remarking that it’s only once children become adults that they learn about who their parents are - and he never received the opportunity. Madison Hamburg was just 18 when his mother was killed, and it’s in 2013 where “Murder on Middle Beach” starts, with him embarking on a documentary for film school. The final scene in which he cuts to a clip from an old home movie of himself as a toddler with his mother was incredibly touching, and a rightful ending reminding viewers that the person at the centre of this tragedy was indeed a person.This ‘Gilded Age’ Character Was a Wild, Tea-Spilling Real Person No doubt it is precisely *because* he is the son of the central figure in the documentary that he is able to avoid the exploitation and de-humanization that so often mar true crime documentaries, where the gory details and detective work overshadow the humanity of the person whose life was lost, and the trauma, loss, and humanity of all those who loved that person. To me, the greatest success of this documentary is that while I started watching it for the reason that I suspect we all watch true crime documentaries - for the thrill of trying to solve the mystery myself from my living room - I continued watching it because Hamburg was so earnest in his desire to discover his mother as a person, and never lost sight of that as the ultimate goal of this project. Instead, Hamburg was able to craft a story that was thoroughly compelling for viewers while maintaining what appeared at all times to be sincere compassion and empathy as a family member. Or indeed, that he would have already made his mind up as to who murdered his mother and would have a singular vision in bringing that person down. I was skeptical at first that being so close to the story in question, Hamburg would not have the objectivity needed to investigate all angles and expose often ugly truths about his own family. Considering that this is Madison Hamburg's first-ever documentary and that his own mother and family are the subject of the docuseries, I was surprised at how excellent this was.
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