Review of The Keepers
Rating *****
This documentary series is very much in the vein of Making a Murderer. It’s an in-depth look at the murder of a nun and sexual assaults by priests and others in a Catholic school for girls. Much of the focus is on one pedophile priest – Father Joesph Maskell (shown above on the left). This guy takes devious behavior to a whole other level.
The series starts with several amateur sleuths on a mission to solve the cold case of 26-year-old Sister Cathy Cesnik, who went missing in November of 1969. The mystery of who killed Sister Cesnik centers on the revelation that Father Maskell and others had a history of sexual assaults dating back years before the nun’s death. The question is, was Sister Cesnik killed because she was about to go to the police to report the sexual assaults?
Director Ryan White and his team do an excellent job of laying out the case along with a list of potential suspects. The engrossing story told in a cinema verite style, evolves over seven one-hour episodes. The entire series is available for streaming through Netflix.
Doing a documentary series like this takes an enormous amount of time, energy, and money. I’m sure that we’re talking at least a couple of years. There are the hours of filming along with all that entails such as lighting, cameras, and sound. Then there are the countless hours spent editing that video into a compelling story. On top of those issues are licensing, copyright, and libel issues. Oh, and the whole thing needs a soundtrack to help pull it all together. But you don’t have to worry about any of that. All you have to do is log onto Netflix and start watching.