Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story: A Scattered Tale of Lies and Betrayal
Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story: A Scattered Tale of Lies and Betrayal
Note: Dirty John is a crime anthology series. The name of the series comes from the subject of its first season, John Meehan, and does not correlate with anything that transpires in its second season which focuses on Betty Broderick. The title is just a title and nothing more. I also have not seen the first season, and so this season acted as my initial impression of the production and vision behind the true crime anthology aspect of the show. This is a review of Season 2 only.
The dramatization of true crime has resulted in popular media that has not only educated the public on real-world events that have transpired, but have also brought a level of analysis to the true crime world through this “edutainment” medium. This ranges from films like Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, to television series like FX’s American Crime Story: The People v. OJ Simpson, to non-fiction psychoanalyses of criminals as seen in popular YouTube channels like JCS – Criminal Psychology. All of these mediums approach true crime with different levels of tact and understanding, utilizing entertainment and taking some liberties in order to give the public a broad-strokes understanding of the real-world events that transpired. One of these mediums was the podcast, which is where Dirty John first got its start. Originally a podcast discussing the case of John Meehan, the series was later adapted by Bravo as a single-season crime drama. The show’s success netted it a continuation on USA Network, where it went forward as an anthology series. The second season focused on the case of Betty Broderick.
Unlike many of the other media I cover here, I’d like to delve a bit more into “spoilers,” given that this was an event that happened in real life and therefore knowledge of it can negate anything that may spoil an adaptation of real-world events. Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story dramatizes the murder of her ex-husband, Dan Broderick, and his wife Linda Kolkena-Broderick. The show takes a dive into Betty’s formative years and the early moments of her marriage with Dan, showcasing over different time periods the metal strain Betty was under in her marriage as well as the undercurrent of friction between the two as time went on. Much of this involves Dan’s prioritization of work over his family, as well as Betty’s own mental health issues that resulted in her putting accusatory strains on the relationship. Through the show’s eight episodes, viewers are shown every side of their relationship, most especially the conflict surrounding their divorce and Betty’s attempts at gaining custody over her children.
The show does a good job at balancing entertainment with respectability in conjunction with the real-life events. The actors portray their characters in such a way that you’re able to comprehend the broad histories behind everyone involved in this case, from the victims to the bystanders to the perpetrator herself. There is introspection into the lives and actions of all of these people, indicating just how the row of dominos was stacked so that, when they fell, disastrous consequences followed with them. Great performances by lead actors Amanda Peet and Christian Slater—each playing their respective role of the titular couple—emphasize everything that happens in the series.
Amanda Peet especially stole the show as Betty Broderick. Her performance surrounding the rapidly-deteriorating mental state of the recent divorcee was always superb. While it bordered on over-the-top at times, her performance and the actions her character took courtesy of the writing department remained consistent throughout. The way she utilized the script and how she performed it was incredibly convincing, as it always felt like she was speaking very naturally, as if she were channeling Betty Broderick’s energy. This was most especially evident during scenes involving the couple’s court proceedings during the divorce, where Betty speaks for a large period of time. Peet was the star of the show itself, but these scenes were especially poignant, given the way she employed the sheer magnitude of her abilities as an actor. Praiseworthy to say the least.
Circling back around to the writing for the series, the show oftentimes felt like an eight-hour film given the way in which the series always flowed from one episode to another. There would sometimes be opening sequences for each episode that didn’t fall squarely in the timeline of the show—most especially in the first three episodes—but that added to the thematic elements of the series as a whole. The weight of the world feeling like it’s on Betty’s shoulders is translated to the screen quite well, mostly because not everything is told in a linear fashion until the final five episodes. This served to give audiences an expectation of what was going to happen. Because one choice the writers made that I found respectable was telling the audience within the very first episode what was going to happen: Betty Broderick was going to kill her ex-husband Dan Broderick. Instead of relying on the suspense of, “What’s going to happen next?” it instead has the audience wondering, “How did we get here?” The answers are very well-documented in this fictional format and presented in a distinct, informative way.
Though I will issue a quick warning: One of the episodes has a scene where the camera cuts back and forth between shots that all circle a table. While the rest of the cinematography is fine, this scene felt very strange and out-of-place. And nauseating, which is something I’ve never felt before when watching something because of the cinematography. I think the showrunners were trying to indicate how the onset of possible divorce was causing a discombobulated rift between Betty and Dan, but this could have been done in a way that didn’t feel like being on a spinning circus ride. Though to be fair, that was the only case of subjectively “bad” cinematography in the entire show. It was also a unique experience that I’ll never forget, so I have to give credit where credit is due for that. And don’t worry if that sounds off-putting to you: The rest of the show does not have dizzying camerawork.
Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story is an entertaining, informative fictionalization of Betty Broderick’s slow downward spiral before the tragedy that unfolded at her hand. A well-acted, well-written series that doesn’t shy away from making real people out to be who they were, the show is a testament to the public interest in true crime stories, whether it be in an analytical or fictional format. I would recommend this show to anyone who wants to see an investing true crime miniseries that often cuts right to the chase while maintaining engagement. It’s a very short, very good series that gets a recommendation from me as a solid entry in the medium of true crime fiction.
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