
Victoria
The best thing about Victoria isn’t actually its technical prowess—it’s the lead performance from the mesmerizing Laia Costa as the title character.
The best thing about Victoria isn’t actually its technical prowess—it’s the lead performance from the mesmerizing Laia Costa as the title character.
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In the recent uproar following the release of the video footage showing
Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice punching his wife Janay in the
elevator, a hashtag started trending on Twitter: #WhyIStayed. Beverly
Gooden, from North Carolina, did not watch the elevator footage, but
heard the commentary, the overwhelming refrain being, "Why didn't she
just leave?" A survivor of domestic violence herself, Gooden went on
Twitter and began a series of Tweets about why she stayed. The hashtag
started trending, as more and more people started sharing their stories.
It made national news. HBO's new feature-length documentary, "Private
Violence," directed by Cynthia Hill, has been over a decade in the
making, but its release could not come at a more opportune time. A look
at the complexity of domestic violence, especially when it comes to the
difficulty of prosecuting abusers in a court of law, "Private Violence" keeps its focus narrow, a smart choice, following around Kit Gruelle, a victims' advocate from North Carolina.
Kit Gruelle lives in the mountains of North Carolina, and works with
women's shelters and law enforcement on various domestic abuse cases
about to enter the court system. She also trains first responders,
police officers and hostage negotiators on the complexities of what
goes on in domestic abuse situations. There is a fascinating scene
showing a role-playing scenario where two cops in training interview an
arguing "couple" (in reality, domestic abuse advocates). The cops
afterwards are taught what they did right, what they did wrong, what
signals they missed and what red flags they ignored. This is very important
work. Misconceptions and preconceived notions, not to mention
prejudices and judgmental attitudes, leave victims at risk.
As a survivor of an abusive relationship herself, Gruelle is able to
communicate powerfully to those who cannot understand why people stay in
violent situations, and why they often keep going back. At one point, when
describing her own relationship, Gruelle says, "I would always go back
because at least then I knew where he was."
"Private Violence" highlights the diversity of
Gruelle's tasks, featuring her driving around from courthouses to
shelters to doctor's offices, back to her home in the mountains. There
are a couple of moments where Gruelle is shown listening to something,
the testimony of a survivor, or, in one scene, a terrible tape sent to
her of a man whipping his wife, screaming "Don't you ever cross me!," and,
in those scenes, Hill zooms in on Gruelle's eyes, catching the
intensity of the listening going on there. Those are riveting and
empathetic moments. One can see why Hill was so taken with Gruelle as a
subject.
"Private Violence" also presents the horrifying case of Deanna Walters, a woman kidnapped by her husband
and driven across the country against her will with their 2 1/2-year-old
daughter. He beat Deanna all along the way; so badly in Oklahoma that
he almost killed her. The police officer who finally pulled the truck
over and called an ambulance, said, "In the 15 years I've been a law
enforcement officer, I've never seen anybody in a car wreck as badly
beat up as that girl." However, Deanna's husband was not charged with
anything and allowed to return home to North Carolina. Deanna's daughter
was placed in foster care (Deanna saying, quietly, "That destroyed
me.") Because the two had crossed so many state lines, and because
Deanna didn't know what state she was in half the time, there was fear
that the case would get lost in the shuffle, and that nobody would want
to prosecute it on a state-level. Gruelle and others hoped that his
multiple crimes (kidnapping, assault) could be tried in a federal court
where the punishment might be steeper. (Gruelle is quick to point out
the terrible irony that kidnapping is a worse offense in the eyes of the
law than beating someone so badly she almost dies and continues to have
seizures as a result of the beating.) Deanna Walters had been asked
repeatedly, by friends, family, and then law enforcement and lawyers,
the common question: "Why didn't you leave him?" Gruelle points out:
Deanna did leave him. And he retaliated by kidnapping
her and then almost killing her.
"Private Violence" is the story the important
work of Gruelle, of Deanna Walters' case, and of the American court
system, the giant loopholes in the law, and the multiple problems with
enforcing restraining orders (as well as prosecuting those who violate
such orders.) Gruelle, appearing on a radio show, comes with a stack of
files over a foot high of restraining orders that had been violated, resulting in the women being murdered. Gruelle says, "I refer to
restraining orders as a last will and testament."
As long as survivors are asked "Why didn't you just leave?" there will
be a need for advocates such as Kit Gruelle. And as long as there are
people out there like Gruelle, doing the frustrating and often thankless
work of not only keeping victims safe but bringing their abusers to
justice, there is hope. "Private Violence" is extremely sad, but it has a lot of hope.
"Private Violence" opened Friday in limited release and plays tonight, October 20, 2014 on HBO.
This message came to me from a reader named Peter Svensland. He and a fr...
A review of Steven Spielberg's "Bridge of Spies" from its NYFF premiere last night.
A review of season two of FX's "Fargo."