THE MOTIVE is a new Netflix true-crime documentary about a 13-year old boy, who kills his parents and two older sisters. The crime took place in Jerusalem in 1986 and this production is from Israel. Many people who knew him are interviewed as well as those who worked on the case.
While this Netflix true-crime production should blow your mind, it will probably also irritate and anger. It certainly had that effect on me. Mostly because of the subject but also due to the way it’s told.
In this the first episode wastes absolutely no time getting right to the heart of the drama. A family is shot at point-blank range while in their beds by a 14 year old booy, who happens to be the only witness. Blood spatters up the wall and a horror-show crime scene paints a grim picture for the series ahead.
This essentially forms the crux of the investigation, as the rest of The Motive shifts across to (yep, you guessed it) the suspect themselves and their motive in all this.
The Motive examines the reasoning (or lack thereof) for this 14 year old to commit such a heinous crime. There are ideas about mental health, psychiatric care and the justice system, all linking back to what makes a killer kill. It’s a pretty straightforward show in many ways, focusing more on talking head segments rather than big re-enactments and flashy visuals.
Much like other true-crime docs of its kind, the story is told well and there’s a good range of archival footage as well, including photos and video-clips from the time. The first episode even gives a heads up to this during the opening credit scroll, pointing out that there’s never-before-seen footage included in this one.
On this The Motive does do enough to keep things watchable until the end, and true crime enthusiasts will certainly be in their element.
It also helps too that this series only takes place across four episodes, depicting a light, easy watch that doesn’t take up too much of its runtime by backtracking on details already told. It’s not perfect, and at times the music does feel a little overbearing given the nature of the story being told, but that’s a minor stylistic point in what’s otherwise a pretty solid as documentary series.
Story
Decades after, a 14-year-old boy shoots his family point-blank in their beds. Yet questions persist. In this docuseries, insiders come forward to revisits the horrifying crime.
Over all Thoughts About THE MOTIVE
If you enjoy true-crime documentaries, then you should definitely check out this one on Netflix. Sure, I was irritated in many ways, but mostly due to the cold hard facts of this case. In particular the sentencing!
However, if you expect to find any answers, then The Motive isn’t exactly helpful in that sense. Sure, “insiders come forward”, but they mostly have their own theories. And often they won’t really share those theories. Instead, they hint at them, which didn’t do much in terms of sharing facts about this true crime.
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