The Blatant Ignorance of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
A show that is too long and lacks clear direction is highlighted by its shallow handling of domestic abuse.
Trigger Warning - This show and review features topics of abuse.
Creator of the hit Netflix show, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Ryan Murphy, is back with his second installment of the IP. This season focuses on the tragic Lyle and Eric Menendez Story and, for starters, is no where near the narrative quality of the Emmy-winning Dahmer.
For those unfamiliar, the Menendez brothers brutally killed their wealthy parents in 1989 and were convicted of the crime in 1996. Before the murders, the two brothers were subject to sexual, physical, and emotional abuse at the hands of their parents. The show explores the brother’s upbringing and ramifications of their actions.
The best word to describe this Ryan Murphy biopic is overexaggerated. Murphy invents themes of promiscuity and spends far too much time dragging out baseless claims that the two brothers had intimate feelings for each other. This comes at the sacrifice of a more detailed exploration into how the abuse the brothers faced from their parents, particularly their father Jose, influenced their actions.
This is an odd creative decision because it minimizes the effect of heinous parenting on Erik and Lyle. Whether Murphy meant it or not, his story more or less suggests that the brothers are only to blame and that their parents are not responsible. It is no question that the brothers were awful criminals, but not properly addressing the domestic abuse they faced is irresponsible given how prominent parental abuse is around the world.
Murphy had a real opportunity to tell a meaningful story about a lot of wrongdoing in order to raise awareness for a serious issue. Instead, he overdramatizes the story of mentally ill murderers for a poorly executed form of shock-television.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is available to watch today on Netflix. You can check out all my other reviews at Blitz’s Backlot. Let me know your thoughts on the show in the comments. What is your rating?
