The upside for a filmmaker to get his or her indie acquired by Netflix is the fact that it will be seen by way more eyeballs than any theatrical release.
That’s exactly what’s happening to Geeta Gandbhir’s “The Perfect Neighbor,” which hit Netflix on Friday. The streamer acquired Gandbhir’s documentary out of this past January’s Sundance Film Festival for $5M. Money well spent. The film just hit #1 on the Netflix charts, edging out “KPop Demon Hunters” and “The Woman in Cabin 10.” It’s also #3 worldwide.
Regardless, that deal out of Sundance was one of the biggest of the festival—and for good reason. “The Perfect Neighbor” recounts the June 2023 killing of Ajike Owens in Marion County, Florida. It’s incendiary, formally inventive, you-are-there non-fiction.
Shot entirely from police bodycam footage and edited to perfection, it follows a petty disagreement between neighbors in Florida that takes a lethal turn. Gandbhir’s film starts with the murder and then goes back in time for us to experience the events that led to the tragedy.
This is not just a formally inventive film—utilizing two-person police POVs for shot-reverse shot—but also an intellectual exercise in modern-day America. Despite its topical nature, the film shows total restraint, opting for a show-don’t-tell motif in its narrative (that is, until the fine title card).
Gandbhir, very wisely, doesn’t turn the film into a civics lesson or political statement, refusing to provide us with any easy answers. The moral quandary at the center of the film resides in the inability of some individuals to decipher between fear and danger.
You’re going to be getting a lot of people talking about this film around the water cooler. There’s no way to avoid how provocative some of the moments in this film are. Its massive exposure on Netflix has now firmly put it at the top of the heap in the Oscar conversation for Best Documentary.
Now it’s your turn — have you watched “The Perfect Neighbor” yet? What did you think? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
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