As someone who had a TV show made about a crime that happened in their town by a big-name star, I know to take every adaptation with a grain of salt. Writer and producer Ryan Murphy has successfully added to the list of poor attempts of recounting traumatic events through television.
When I saw the trailer for “Monsters,” an adaptation of Erik (Cooper Koch) and Lyle (Nicholas Alexander Chavez) Menendez and the murder of their parents, I was taken aback by the portrayal of the brothers. And that was just the trailer.
I had hoped the word “Monsters” would be up to interpretation based on the title alone, but after watching, I was proven wrong. The show depicts both the parents and the brothers as such.
Lyle and Erik may have killed their parents, but they were nowhere near the monsters their parents were. They killed out of necessity, their dad abused them out of pleasure while their mom just let it happen.
The series starts after the murders, with flashbacks every couple of scenes, and very few of the events leading up to it.
We see the murder scene in the first episode. It was extremely graphic. The whole topic is uncomfortable and triggering to some. No one wants to see it, but if Murphy was going to be detailed about the murder, he should’ve been equally detailed about what led to the murders. It was disappointing to see the victimization of the parents in the murder scene when the abuse scenes were barely shown in defense.
Of course, it’s understandable that the moments of childhood abuse where they were children should never be shown for the sake of child actors, but it felt as though Murphy was trying to get the audience to sympathize with their parents.
The abuse isn’t even revealed until the third episode, and yet, it wasn’t the full truth at first. Erik tells his attorney, Leslie Abramson (Ari Graynor) that Lyle sexually abused him. A few moments later, Erik reveals that his father was sexually abusing both him and his brother, and that’s why he didn’t blame his brother for what he did to him.
When the series did show the abuse scenes, they added humor. There was a scene in ‘Episode Four’, where Jose Menendez (Javier Bardem) sent Lyle’s girlfriend away because they didn’t believe she met their standards. Jose went to the door and blew air kisses at the girl. If this were any other type of show, the interaction would’ve been funny. But this was distasteful.
The last 10 minutes of the third episode is when the heaviness of the situation starts to set in. We don’t get the accounts of abuse from Erik until the seventh episode. The issue with waiting this long for the truth is that many people don’t sit through the whole show, especially in cases like this where episodes are nearly an hour long. So, if the audience doesn’t make it to nearly the end, or even the fourth episode, they are left with the impression that these boys are sociopaths with no reason for killing their parents, missing the whole point of their case.
The actors did an amazing job and should receive recognition during award season. The seventh episode is Erik’s account of the abuse, it wasn’t a flashback like the other tellings of what happened, it was Erik going into detail with Leslie in silence. Koch did an incredible job acting in this episode in particular. I felt like I was Leslie, listening to all of the gruesome details for the first time. It’s one thing to act with the script given to you, but his mannerisms and demeanor made it eerily realistic.
Graynor did a great job portraying Leslie Abramson’s fight for the brothers, specifically Erik. In a show where we already know the ending, and there’s so much outrage about it, her dialogue and acting made the audience feel the same way all over again. I had to take a break from watching after her arguments and closing statements because it felt so real and upsetting.
The show did go into detail about how the media inaccurately portrayed the brothers. Dominick “Nick” Dunne (Nathan Lane), a writer for Vanity Fair is shown exaggerating details and adding false information to his story about Lyle and Erik. The battle between the defense and the media was a good addition that I’m grateful Murphy decided to add, especially with his track record of depicting true-crime stories.
Murphy is known for shows like “Glee,” “American Horror Story” and even other portrayals of true crime like “Dahmer,” about prolific serial killer Jeffery Dahmer. He also faced backlash for “Dahmer,” mostly from the victims’ families.
When “Monsters” was released, it didn’t take long for backlash to pour in. This time, it was also the Menendez brothers and their extended family who took to the media to express their disappointment.
Murphy’s response to the criticism was tone-deaf and apathetic.
“The family’s response is predictable at best,” Murphy said in an interview with Variety. “I have no interest in talking to them.”
The actors were brilliant, and the show was entertaining, but it would’ve gained so much from an interview with the brothers. Murphy needs to take this show and “Dahmer,” and learn from his mistakes. If I were in his shoes, I would start by donating some of the show’s revenue to causes that help victims like Lyle and Erik Menendez. While I’m at it, I would also stop using other people’s pain for fame.
