A Gray State

All I got from this and not ever knowing or hearing anything about this guy is that he was a narcissistic control freak. He didn't sit well with me from the beginning and as I said, I knew nothing of him. Maybe this is a great documentary if you understand or know who he is but it's not what I was expecting. Watching a self absorbed douche bag doesn't inspire interest for a newcomer. I feel bad for his wife and daughter and can only imagine how he was at home without a camera on him. Hmmm.... weird!

I think the low rating, at least among those voting and not the critics who like the film, is disappointment the filmmakers did not turn Crowley into some kind of martyr, but treated him as the disturbed murderer that he was. As we've seen in the news so many times just in the last couple years, This can very well be the results of following absurd and dangerous conspiracy theories and letting your emotions overtake your reason. Even more relevant in 2019 than it was when first released. Highly recommended!

I was gripped from the opening scenes. Not knowing the story, it unfolded like a mystery, thanks to a solid structure from a director in control. I don't wish to diminish the content, as really, this is a very disturbing and sad story, as told through the people closest to David, the young man at the center of A Gray State. He was clearly talented but did not realize that as he was creating his debut feature film, he was really documenting his own story, one, which unfortunately, we are now all to privy to. It's a shame that the young woman who shares his journey wasn't represented more by her family, but given the situation, you can understand why they probably didn't wish to participate. As a parent, it's absolutely heartbreaking. A truly tragic story, that didn't leave any questions for me, that it might do for others. The human mind is a fragile thing, especially after trauma. There is a high degree of responsibility, however, of governments to look after those whom it exposes to war, that should last long after duty is over.

I really thought I was going to watch something that made me think 'WOW! That's deep! The government did kill them!' I really thought I was going to be WOW'D by this documentary like 9/11 conspiracy, or the Marilyn Monroe murder conspiracy, but after watching this documentary it was clear to me (no questions asked) David killed his wife and kid and then took his own life. He liked to control and seemed very narcissistic which lead me to think wanted to the publicity and make us all think the murders (after his death) was a conspiracy (which it wasn't.)

The very unfortunate story of the murder-suicide of the Crowley family. The documentary includes relevant interviews and archival footage. A thoughtful timeline of events is presented and the interviews have good flow. Most of the content is about the making of Davids movie and gave the documentary a home movie vibe rather than a true crime vibe. Overall a decent documentary.