
Sundance Review: ‘The Ballad of Wallis Island’ is a Hilarious Story of Music, Passion, and Miscommunications
January 29, 2025
Interview: Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun on Contemplating Humanity, Technology, and Being Aware in ‘Love Me’
January 29, 2025It’s possible to make friends with those who live on the same block, but there’s nothing that inherently unites neighbors other than their location. What’s much worse than not wanting to have anything to do with those who live next door or down the street is actively being hated by someone, since a safe location of retreat is still in proximity to a place that doesn’t feel at all welcoming. The documentary The Perfect Neighbor examines the tragic implications of bad relationships and the questionable role of policing in doing anything to help prevent something irreversible.
Constructed almost entirely from police body cam footage, this film begins with the first call that Central Florida resident Susan Lorincz makes to the police. She claims that the kids from surrounding houses are harassing her, yelling and screaming and trespassing on her property. There are many successive calls in which police officers – sometimes the same ones who have been there before – show up and learn one story of persecution from Lorincz and an entirely different narrative from everyone else in her orbit. Things escalate to a truly regrettable point when calls come in from Lorincz and others that she has shot through her door at a woman banging on it, allegedly terrified that her neighbor Ajike Owens was going to kill her.
This documentary comes from established filmmaker Geeta Gandbhir, who assembles a riveting narrative from preexisting footage that doesn’t always show the entire perspective of the scene. What it lacks in finessed, purposeful cinematography it more than makes up for in its inclusion of brutally honest moments, like certain officers who mutter choice words after walking away from Lorincz. It also shows exactly how her neighbors talk about her and the way in which she turns into a victim each time the police show up at her door, even though she never quite gets her story straight and doesn’t ever accept any responsibility for creating conflict when there may not have been any in the first place.
This film plays out like a thriller, with a score by Laura Heinzinger that heightens the drama to warn audiences about what’s to come next. Forgoing framing devices, postmortem interviews, and narration is a bold choice that works wonders since it’s hard to argue with what Gandbhir is presenting here since audiences can see and hear it all with their own eyes. Responding officers frequently urge Lorincz’s neighbors to not antagonize her and to remember that, even though they’re kids, they should get their parents involved rather arguing directly with her. But they all seem to understood that the lone wolf isn’t the problem, regardless of their legal responsibility to show up after each of her many calls that many times have to do with property that isn’t even hers.
It’s easy to be captivated – and unnerved – by everything that’s shown in this film, and after Lorincz is finally the subject of a call, it shifts its focus to the interrogation room. That’s an equally fascinating subject, one which unpacks just how she sees herself in the world. There are discussions of race repeated throughout the film from neighbors and in court since many of them are Black and Lorincz is white, and there’s also the question of Florida’s stand-your-ground law, which could excuse Lorincz’s actions and delays her arrest, much to the fury of Owens’ family and much of the community.
The Perfect Neighbor is not a documentary that proposes a sweeping solution or a specific instance of something that might have been done differently, but it does serve as a chilling cautionary tale about permitting problematic behavior and thereby encouraging it to continue. The collection of footage and its transparency is astounding, and audiences will feel as if they are in the presence of these people, something that’s inherently not comfortable but very effective for the viewing experience. This isn’t a story anyone should have to watch, but it’s a specific instance that speaks volumes about society and invites many questions about the way we listen to and indulge those who put forward a particular narrative.
Movie Rating: 8/10