"The Perfect Neighbor" Tells a Tragically Familiar Story in a Groundbreaking Way

For those who have Truman Show Syndrome, a movie like “The Perfect Neighbor” may make it difficult for you to get help for that condition. Named after the Jim Carrey movie where a man lives his life on TV for millions of viewers, unaware, doctors coined the term for people who feel like everyone around them is constantly watching them. “The Perfect Neighbor” lends more credence to that fear as it is a documentary that is 98% composed of body cam, Ring, and interrogation room footage. A few moments of news footage piece the film here and there, but for the most part, this is a movie where all of the recording devices we have out there come together to share a compelling story of a conflict gone deadly.

Sure, fictional movies like “Searching” have compiled fictional narratives using every type of camera footage available, but this is the first time I can think of where a non-fiction story is presented entirely by footage from various forms of security cameras. The end result is both technically fascinating and morally worrisome. It’s one thing to know that everything you do is being filmed: it’s another thing to see an example of that playing out in front of you on the TV screen. The way this story was pieced together is so fascinating that I expect it to start a whole conversation outside of the one that the film wants us to have.

Because the story it tells is one of a neighborhood conflict that escalates into something deadly, and the police's slow pursuit of justice. While this will likely be seen as another sad story of white-on-black crime that is woefully mishandled (and we should not lose focus on that fact), by telling us the story with security footage and not talking heads, we truly become firsthand witnesses to the situation at hand. What we see is a situation where a bitter old white lady makes life hell for her (mostly) black neighborhood. There is some dispute on whether she is even legally allowed to live in the house she occupies (but there is no question that no one involved has the legal right to kick her out).

So, despite the neighborhood hating her and the police doing what they can to keep the peace, we all know this is not going to end well. What did surprise me was the otherwise relative peace in the area. The community is mixed, but aside from the Karen who lives across the street, everyone gets along. The police also have a good relationship with the people, constantly praising the kids for being good and sympathizing with the neighbors whose lives are being inconvenienced by this woman. As a viewer, we want to see the woman locked up, but unless she has done something criminally illegal, the police have their hands tied.

When the deadly altercation does occur (and we all know it will), there is the usual disappointment that comes with seeing another white lady shoot and kill a black woman and get to go home while an “investigation” is conducted. This feels like an injustice. A white woman shoots and kills a black woman and then gets to go home by invoking Florida’s controversial Stand Your Ground law. It plays out so predictably that it’s a sad statement to say the movie feels predictable.

Thankfully, justice does move, however slowly, this time around. The final act, where we spend a good twenty or more minutes in the interrogation room when the sheriff’s office finally believes they have enough evidence to make a move, is compelling and interesting. With no cuts, we feel like a fly on the wall, as we see the charging process play out in real time. I’m not sure how I feel about there being enough cameras to construct a full movie out of security footage. I really don’t. The end results are interesting and compelling, even if it seems like the legal system should have better control over situations like these. “The Perfect Neighbor” is somehow groundbreaking and frustratingly predictable at the same time.