Netflix’s Casting JonBenét finds freedom in a bizarre structural gimmick
Netflix’s Casting JonBenét is the closest you’ll get to a JonBenét Ramsey documentary that doesn’t carry the stench of exploitation and sensationalism. That’s because it’s not really a documentary, and it’s not about JonBenét.
The second documentary feature from 32-year-old Australian director Kitty Green, the film is more like a hybrid between a piece of community theater and magical realist documentaries like Alma Har’el’s Bombay Beach. For Casting JonBenét, the filmmakers auditioned 200 people in Boulder, Colorado, for roles in an imaginary film about the 1996 murder of six-year-old pageant queen JonBenét Ramsey. They then reassembled the famous story using their test footage and in-costume interviews. All of the traditional trappings…
