In 1991, documentary maker, Nick Broomfield, was asked to research into some serial killer cases with the plan to make a documentary. His interest was lacklustre until he came upon the Aileen Wournos case and met up with her lawyer and her adoptive step mom. They were seeking a price for information about Aileen. Investigating further, it seemed everyone was out to make a quick buck out of this case. Her lawyer, her newly adoptive mother, her ex lover and there was even a conspiracy with the police to sell the story to Hollywood producers.
The level of corruption is rife throughout the film and, ironically, it is Aileen who comes across as the most genuine and honest person. Although she clearly admits to the crimes, she swears that it was all in self defence.
The film has a connecting theme with the 2003 documentary, Capturing the Friedmans. There too, it is a tale of a corrupt trial surrounded by a media circus and though the crimes are heinous the sentencing seems unjust.
In 2002, Broomfield was served with a subpoena to appear at Wournos's final state appeal before execution. At this point, Broomfield and his longtime collaborator Joan Churchill, decided to make a follow up film. The Life and Death of a Serial Killer looks at her life and the journey she went on that turned her into a serial killer. It is also a disturbing look into the issue of the death penalty in the USA.
It makes for an interesting double bill.
Broomfield makes very interesting documentaries concentrating on a single person/group of people. From his earlier work regarding the fallout after the death of Kurt Cobain in Kurt & Courtney; a look into the East/West rivalries in rap music in Biggie & Tupac; to the recent expose of Sarah Palin, Sarah Palin: You Betcha! All very interesting films and worthy of your time.
The 2002 companion film
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