A Decade Later, The Jinx Remains A Shocking True Crime Saga
Sometimes you get lucky.
When a true crime story is adapted into a fictional movie, it’s usually after the case has reached its end, giving the film a definitive conclusion based on reality. Sometimes, however, things shake out differently. In 2010, Ryan Gosling starred in All Good Things, a dramatization of the long-standing speculation around Robert Durst, the son of a New York real-estate magnate whose wife went missing under suspicious circumstances. Decades later, two more murders seemed to lead right to him.
At the end of All Good Things, a disclaimer states that Durst is a free man, and that the three crimes are all unsolved. But director Andrew Jarecki wasn’t satisfied with that ending, so he started interviewing Durst for a documentary. Ten years ago today, the end product premiered on HBO — and led to real-world consequences.
The Jinx is the result of a cautious partnership between Jarecki and Durst himself, who liked All Good Things and agreed to sit down with Jarecki over multiple sessions. Durst is a magnetic figure with a shaky voice and beady eyes, and it’s hard not to feel for him when he describes witnessing his mother’s suicide as a child.
The series’ six episodes walk viewers through each crime: the mysterious disappearance of Durst’s wife, Kathie, in 1982, the mob-style murder of his close friend Susan Berman in 2000, and the murder of his neighbor, Morris Black, in 2001. Each story is gripping in its own right; Berman, for example, was the daughter of a crime boss.
Robert Durst in The Jinx.
After laying out the facts, The Jinx seeks new evidence. Berman’s body was found thanks to an anonymous letter delivered to the police that misspelled Beverly Hills as “Beverley Hills.” Another envelope with the same error is then found among Durst’s papers.
In the final episode, Jarecki has the handwriting on the two envelopes analyzed to confirm they were written by the same person, but has trouble finding Durst to confront him with the revelation. When they eventually sit down, Durst is wishy-washy and evasive. But after the interview, in a shocking stroke of luck, Durst uses the restroom with his mic still on, muttering to himself, “What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.”
Robert Durst at his trial for Berman’s murder in 2021.
That twist rippled through pop culture and made The Jinx the gold standard of true crime documentaries. It also led to Durst being arrested for the murder of Susan Berman the day before the final episode aired on HBO. Durst was eventually convicted and sentenced to life in prison, where he was awaiting trial for his wife’s murder before dying in 2022.
The Jinx’s aftermath was so stunning it prompted a sequel, The Jinx Part Two, following the events of Durst’s life after the first documentary was released. It’s a compelling follow-up, but there’s nothing like the original’s remarkable revelations. To make a good documentary, you have to be good, but you also have to be lucky. Five years on, The Jinx is still the combination storm: a talented director, an enthralling subject, and an all-time lucky break.
