Perhaps Capturing The Friedmans ceased to be a genuine, real-life documentary the day Andrew Zarecki decided to fund Jesse Friedman's appeal; placing himself clearly on the side of the younger Friedman pedophile, and calling into question the accuracy of the picture he was painting of the two convicted child molesters. For this reason, the most informed aspects of the film are actually the home videos that Friedman brother David shared with the director. They show a raw, true and sometimes inexplicable side to the family dynamic as Arnold and Jesse prepared for trial; not admissible as evidence, the videos are often more illuminating that the evidence against them, because they show the doubt that Arnold's wife, Elaine, has in his innocence, her desire to protect her son at all costs, and the family's general reluctance to deal admit Jesse's role in the molestation even if they are happy to encourage Arnold to admit his guilt. Perhaps it is this ability to enable Jesse that has made him the narcissist that even the defense-appointed psychologist featured in the film states him to be. Never having to take responsibility for his actions, Jesse is protected by a family who defend him on the grounds that he was abused by his father and therefore does not really know any better.
Jarecki's critics point to the fact that he did not present all of the prosecution's evidence against Jesse in the film. which gives a skewed picture to the audience of his crimes. Jesse is presented as a victim, which is also deceiving, because the victims of the Friedmans' abuse are the victims that a movie about child molesters should be focusing on. Thus, Jesse begins to come across as a victim of bad investigation or investigative sloppiness, which is not actually the case at all. Another aspect of the case that the movie does not really explore sufficiently is the fact that although Jesse used his father's abuse as an excuse for his actions,his brothers did not follow in Arnold's footsteps and become child predators despite the fact that they were abused as well. This is also something that critics have raised as a problem when it comes to looking at the film as a truly impartial documentary.
