Review | “The Perfect Neighbor” is a tragic story, uniquely told

Graphic by Sienna Lewis, Staff Photographer

“The Perfect Neighbor” employs a unique documentary approach, primarily using body cam footage obtained from the police officers who responded to the scene of a shooting to reveal the consequences of Florida’s “stand your ground” laws. The new award-winning documentary rose to the top of the Netflix charts after debuting at Sundance.

The film begins with an intense scene of police officers responding to a shooting in a residential neighborhood, and it becomes clear that this is the breaking point that the film will work up to. The scene is then reset to 2022, focusing on a constantly enraged neighbor, Susan Lorincz. She spends her free time frequently calling the police on Ajike Owens' kids for things like playing in the yard and being too loud. Lorincz calls the kids names and racial slurs, and it becomes clear quickly that her anger is rooted in racism and her hatred of the Black families that live across the street.

Tensions between the neighbors rise, but the officers who respond to the calls always stick to the belief that kids will be kids and they have a right to play outside.

I was skeptical about this film's ability to convey its point because I had never seen a documentary that relied solely on body cam footage. The filmmakers also incorporated interviews, heard through voice-over, to replace the traditional talking head, allowing for some outside perspective without ever taking you out of the neighborhood.

The film entirely exists inside police body cams; we see life as it occurred, from the firsthand account. We get to form our own opinions about each character without ever being influenced by anything other than their actions. So, when I began to feel that Susan Lorincz was a bad person, I knew it was because I had seen the events unfold from start to finish. 

The footage is nothing short of heartbreaking, the knowledge that I would eventually return to exactly what happened in the opening scene looming for the entire film. I felt uneasy knowing what might happen to the families across the street. 

There is a haunting scene in the film where Susan Lorincz describes herself to the police as a “perfect neighbor,” even though she inflicts so much turmoil on the neighborhood and later kills Ajike Owens in cold blood at Lorincz’s front door. This is where the film poses the question of whether the “stand your ground” law will protect Lorincz or if the justice system will serve Ajike Owens, a mother who was simply standing up for her kids.

The film utilizes long video recordings from the interview process with Lorincz, during which she breaks down her motives. Since the evidence came straight from her mouth, I was able to analyze her behavior more closely and see her for the unforgiving monster she truly was. 

Aside from shots of the neighborhood that set the scene, the only other scenes featured the family and friends of Ajike Owens mourning her loss. It was heart-wrenching seeing her sons blame themselves for not being able to save their mother. The film left me with a sense of satisfaction, knowing that Susan Lorincz is behind bars and Ajike Owens stood up for her kids. 

The film closes with a line from American civil rights activist Al Sharpton speaking at her funeral:  “Because mama knew if she allowed people to degrade you and she’d not stand up for you, that you’d grow up with a feeling that you were something to be degraded.” I think that perfectly encapsulates what audiences should take away from this documentary.

The perfect neighbor was hard to watch, but a story that desperately needed to be told, especially through unconventional means.