From creator Antonio Campos, HBO's "The Staircase" is an 8-part fictionalized dramatization of real life events based on the tendentious, transparently biased and manipulatively edited MaHa mockumentary from Jean-Xavier de Lestrade -- used by Michael Peterson to promote his fabricated fable featuring his wife, Kathleen, as a reckless woman who got too drunk, fell down the stairs and caused her own death.
Though initially a flat and, at times, fitful recounting of the basic facts covered in MaHa's docuseries, HBO's movie eventually manages to include some revealing and riveting moments behind the scenes of Michael's make-believe world.
While Lestrade left the dead victim on the cutting room floor, Campos' version brings Kathleen to life, examining some of the very real horrors she was facing at work and at home -- and in place of MaHa's one-big-happy fake family, HBO has scenes that hint at the dysfunctional dynamic that was truly at work in Michael's bat-infested mansion.
Of course, also included, much to Monsieur Lestrade's chagrin I'm certain, are scenes highlighting the questionable, curiously close relationships between Michael and MaHa's production team -- most notably, his long-term romantic involvement with Sophie Brunet, the main editor of Michael's movie.
HBO's new drama is good television, but for those who prefer non-fiction -- Michael's murderous machinations were laid bare, years ago, in the definitive book on the Peterson case: Written in Blood by Diane Fanning.
Though initially a flat and, at times, fitful recounting of the basic facts covered in MaHa's docuseries, HBO's movie eventually manages to include some revealing and riveting moments behind the scenes of Michael's make-believe world.
While Lestrade left the dead victim on the cutting room floor, Campos' version brings Kathleen to life, examining some of the very real horrors she was facing at work and at home -- and in place of MaHa's one-big-happy fake family, HBO has scenes that hint at the dysfunctional dynamic that was truly at work in Michael's bat-infested mansion.
Of course, also included, much to Monsieur Lestrade's chagrin I'm certain, are scenes highlighting the questionable, curiously close relationships between Michael and MaHa's production team -- most notably, his long-term romantic involvement with Sophie Brunet, the main editor of Michael's movie.
HBO's new drama is good television, but for those who prefer non-fiction -- Michael's murderous machinations were laid bare, years ago, in the definitive book on the Peterson case: Written in Blood by Diane Fanning.