True crime documentaries have had more attention lately thanks to shows like Making a Murderer. People are fascinated by cases like this, because you wonder what could cause these people to act like they did (or in the case of people who are innocent, how the judicial system has treated them). My Friend Rockefeller revolves about Christian Gerhartsreiter. A German man who had a dream to be successfull it in America. He managed to do so and was very popular, but he did so pretending to be people he wasn’t, including being a Rockefeller. It turns out he also is a killer.
It is a fascinating starting point and I was looking forward to get more information about his case. The documentary has been made by Steffi Kammerer, who not only was allowed access to Gerhartsreiter himself, but also interviews a lot of people who he scammed. He managed to convince people of his abilities, knowledge and possessions and they all talk openly about that. It is a crazy story to hear. But this documentary has a problem: Too much time is spent on the people talking about how he managed to convince them and not enough on the crimes he committed, including the murder. You also don’t get an idea about his motivation. Because of that this documentary simply lacks the tension it needs, something like The Imposter did have and that’s a shame because My Friend Rockefeller has potential which might have been there with tighter editing and a slight shift of focus on the crimes.
