Cul de Sac: A Suburban War Story

It's not easy to describe this hour long documentary. There is no narration to tie everything together so the story is told by the interviews and footage. There are several aspects that you could loose if you don't pay close attention to what is being said.

I remember when the story broke and I've seen the tank footage repeated in various chase shows on TV but I never got the story about the guy in the tank. The despair and drugs make a lot of sense now. It's amazing that a lot of the people interviewed are so frank about their drug use, especially when it's clear that some of them were high during the interviews. The downfall and bubbling insanity of Shawn Nelson is made very real. Even his druggie friends were unable to deal with him towards the end. All except one major league paranoid conspiracy driven guy.

The real reason that this is a documentary worth watching is the clear picture of a side of the United States that most of us don't see. Miserable, drug-addicted poor white communities that the system has forgotten.

This is not a "perfect" documentary but it's faults do not ruin it's quality.