#Murder on middle beach reddit series#

#Murder on middle beach reddit series#

By the midway point of the series it’s hard to see how Hamburg can trust any of his family members considering they all mistrust each other. Hamburg learns about his mother’s struggles with alcoholism, a trait that ran in her family he learns about the harsh relationship between Conway and Hamburg’s sister Ali, resulting in Conway believing in her heart that Ali murdered Barbara. At one point Hamburg’s aunt, Conway, tells him she fears the truth will cause him to hate her - and it’s easy to see why. It also serves as the springboard towards examining the façade that is often viewed throughout family photos, memories, and, yes, documentaries in this genre.Īlmost like an Agatha Christie novel, nearly every single person in Barbara Hamburg’s life had motive to murder her. The sheer amount of archival video of the late Barbara Beach Hamburg and her family is beautiful, warm, and heartbreaking on its own merits. He reminds those he interviews that he has to ask tough questions - “Did you have anything to do with my mother’s murder?” being the most obvious - but more importantly, that he wants to learn about his mother as a woman. Starting the project as a college student, the audience sees Hamburg as a confused but passionate young man who’s been through the wringer, both personally and emotionally. Where true crime documentaries tend to focus on the crime itself, Hamburg nimbly balances the story between his mother’s murder and also his own discussions with his family about her life. There’s a feeling watching Hamburg start on his journey that’s reminiscent of Kurt Kuenne’s 2008 documentary “Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father” in that both use a horrific murder in order to pay tribute to a life cut short. His goal, initially, is to find out who his mother was as a person, remarking that it’s only once children become adults that they learn about who their parents are - and he never received the opportunity. Madison Hamburg was just 18 when his mother was killed, and it’s in 2013 where “Murder on Middle Beach” starts, with him embarking on a documentary for film school.

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