THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR Trailer: Sundance-Winning Documentary Captures a Shocking Stand-Your-Ground Case
One of the most chilling documentaries of this year forces us to take a hard, unfiltered look at this country’s controversial stand-your-ground laws. Director Geeta Gandbhir’s unflinching The Perfect Neighbor explores the events leading up to the 2023 murder of black Florida woman Ajike Owens by her white neighbor, Susan Lorincz, using mainly police bodycam footage. Gandbhir won the U.S. Documentary Directing Award at this year’s Sundance, where the film had its world premiere. It has gone on to screen at other festivals globally throughout the year, including the upcoming New York Film Festival, where it will have its NY premiere. The film will open in select theaters on October 10, before streaming on Netflix on Friday, October 17. The chilling official trailer has now arrived.
In his review from Sundance, editor-at-large Matt Delman wrote, “What transpires in Geeta Gandbhir’s The Perfect Neighbor will stay with you beyond an initial viewing. A story told almost entirely through body camera footage is edited brilliantly to elevate a deceptively simple concept to harrowing heights… Gandbhir constructs her film like a prosecutor building a case. She lets the evidence speak for itself. As other viewers have pointed out, there are no talking heads or narrators, only the 911 calls and the audio from the body cams and CCTV footage. The resulting effect is that of a video game. The first-person point of view from the chest of an officer puts the audience in an authoritative position, and usually, the officers are saying and doing the right thing, even without the use of a joystick. But this is a tough level, and Susan Lorincz is the evil boss whom we must face over and over again. There is no cinematographer credited, but the unflattering, grainy footage adds to the overall effect… This is no Mr. Rogers, The Perfect Neighbor will shake you to your core.”
See the official trailer and poster below.
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