Tales of the Grim Sleeper
Documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield is a sort of pop-cultural nomad. In past efforts he’s bumbled after Sarah Palin and Tupac. Alongside Republicans and rap icons, Broomfield’s also keen on serial killers. He even testified at the trial of his last multi-homicidal subject, Aileen Wuornos.
Here Broomfield focuses on a string of murders committed in South Los Angeles between 1985 and 2007. The accused, Lonnie David Franklin Jr. – charged with ten counts of murder – is believed by some to have killed in excess of a hundred women, allegedly focusing on sex workers and addicts.
Populated by friends and family of the accused, activists, and a former prostitute, this is a study of a man and a beleaguered, discarded community. At times Broomfield appears to be having more fun than his subjects warrant. He also seems to forget that, in spite of the weight of evidence against Franklin Jr., he remains ‘the accused’. Still, Broomfield does a capable job of positioning the violence amid a broader narrative of societal neglect.