Tales Of The Grim Sleeper | Nick Broomfield | NYFF 2014
The Grim Sleeper was a serial killer who killed women in L.A. from 1988-2002, with a 14-year gap in-between which earned him the nickname. In July 2010 Lonnie Franklin Jr. was arrested for allegedly being responsible for The Grim Sleeper’s crimes, which included at least ten murders, but many more are suspected. The Grim Sleeper’s victims were African American females, usually prostitutes or crack addicts that he shoot at close range with the same gun or strangle to death. The LAPD was aware of the crimes since the 1980’s, but didn’t break the news until 2008. As I’m writing this Lonnie Franklin Jr. is still awaiting trial.
With Tales Of The Grim Sleeper British documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield dives headfirst into the world of L.A. looking for questions, fascinated by the entire case. He finds and speaks to former friends and associates of Franklin’s, all colorful characters, some very helpful, others not so much. At first they are in denial, but slowly as Broomfield spends more time with them, they start to share some revealing information about Franklin. Such that he was a man who liked to bring women (mostly prositutes) back to his house where he’d photograph them in sexual poses, before engaging in sexual activity. Then there a .25 caliber pistol that he would show off to friends, which just happened to be the gun linked to the crimes.
Out of all the witnesses, the the most colorful one is Pam Brooks, an ex-addict and former prostitute who takes Broomfield under her wing and helps him navigate across the neighborhood talking to people who may have known anything about The Grim Sleeper. Brooks brings a great deal of humor and life to what is mostly an understandably somber film, and is the film’s star, if you will. She becomes an integral part of Broomfield’s team, which also includes his son, Barney Broomfield, who is behind the lens as the cinematographer.
Broomfield’s narrative is always engaging and informative, questioning the LAPD’s role in all this. The fact that they hid this information from the public for so many years is odd. Some subjects question is the LAPD were hands off because he was taking care of crack addicts and prostitutes, almost doing their job for them. Race is also a question, considering nearly all the victims were African American, and the police did nothing. The film wonders if the case would have been handled the same way if the victims were rich and white.
There were some survivors who were able to narrowly escape the wrath of The Grim Sleeper, and Broomfield saves his discussion with them for the end. They’re hard to watch, heartbreaking confessions of women who had been previously ignored. Through his film Broomfield not only gives them a voice, but gives all of his victims a platform where they will never be forgotten.
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