Parents' Guide to The Carman Family Deaths

This true crime documentary is fascinating and tragic but isn't able to reveal much about the case beyond speculation and presumption. The details of the The Carman Family Deaths are swiftly plowed through, but the film never reaches a depth or nuanced position on its subject. There is a sensitivity from director Yon Motskin when handling the fact that Nathan Carman had autism spectrum disorder, but the few experts interviewed don't get much screen time. Their worries and complaints about how Nathan is treated quickly get tossed aside for more "juicy" details of the murders themselves.

The film quite clearly depicts Nathan as the murderer, and most audiences will leave this story thinking the same. But this film had the opportunity to go deeper with a case like this. Instead, we get a tidy summary of this true crime case, from the murder of the grandfather patriarch with all the money, to the murder of the mother, who just wanted the best for her son, and finally to the tragic end of Nathan himself, in prison. But what about the ways this case might have, for the better, influenced how future law enforcement treat people with autism spectrum disorder? What about the ways this case can teach people about how not to raise, parent, and treat young people with autism spectrum disorder?