Chris Kasick’s Citizen Sleuth delves into the uneasy ethical existence of true-crime podcasts. Thoroughly engaging throughout, it will further spark the fires of discussion on the genre – a really absorbing documentary.
In 2011, 20-year-old Jaleayah Davis died in an incident that was ruled accidental yet featured some bizarre circumstances. Emily Nestor created the podcast Mile Marker 181 – the resting place of Davis’ car – to investigate the case. As her series progressed, Nestor attracted millions of listeners, captivated by stories of potential police corruption and contradictory accounts by the victim’s friends. As her investigation continues, truth becomes less essential.
There is a strong possibility that you have encountered a true crime podcast in recent years. In fact, Spotify directly advertises them to some demographics of women, which shows just how engrained the genre has become. However, after dipping my toes into a few of these podcasts, what has always intrigued me, is when they made a series about a specific case, how can they remain objective throughout the investigation? If all avenues lead to dead ends and the mystery remains a mystery, how or when does that person cut ties and move on?
In Citizen Sleuth, filmmaker Chris Kasick dives into this subject by profiling the journey of Emily Nester’s investigation. We get what in other worlds could amount to a fluff piece about Nester; we learn about how the ever-witty and personable Nester found her niche and built her podcast from the ground up. Whatever your opinion is of the true crime genre, you see this young woman succeed, and you almost want to cheer her on.
Kasich firmly pulls the rug out from under our feet midway through the documentary; until now, we have seen how Emily has worked her way up and how involved she is in this story to find an answer, so the family can finally rest. She asks herself questions about putting ads on such content, profiteering off of the dead. When that dead end to her investigation begins to rise its ugly head, Nester begins throwing theories out into the wild and, at times, is confronted for it. In some cases, the most awkward of moments is when she tries to get insight from an actual investigator. You wince for her as she has to listen to each theory be cast aside as if a child came up with it. What was a look at Nester’s rise turns into something else entirely, and it keeps you watching.
This is the strength of Citizen Sleuth; it acts like an actual true-crime episode itself, luring us in before revealing the dastardly truth, though in this case, it is far more misguided truth than dastardly. It is more a tale of how easily an obsession can twist itself into something ugly when fame and notoriety come to the fore. Interestingly, Nester is not oblivious to everything happening, which keeps her firmly in that awkward grey haze. We witness her missteps and can only yell at her in the future to cease her actions.
The great aspect of this documentary is how it leaves you asking so many questions about whether the genre crosses too many ethical lines and what we would do if we were in Emily’s own position. Would we continue or move on to another case to try and use this newly acquired skill? Citizen Sleuth ends up being a very absorbing cautionary tale.
★★★ 1/2
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