Documentarian Jenny Popplewell returns to true crime with her latest film, What Jennifer Did.  Finding a comfortable balance between a conventional format (talking heads, unsettling nighttime B-roll) and the resourceful surveillance storytelling she exhibited in Netflix’s American Murder: The Family Next Door, Popplewell recounts the details of a disturbing attempted double murder, while also dissecting its police procedural.

What Jennifer Did chronicles a peculiar 2010 incident that took place late one night in Markham, Ontario.  Jennifer Pan, after being a witness to her parents being shot by intruders, frantically called 911 requesting help and an ambulance.  Considering her presence during the murder and who she was formally associated with, Jennifer was questioned and interrogated several times;  being closely examined by York Regional police officers to see if stories lined up.  Through those interrogations, the police trace a series of lies that built up to this tragedy.

Recent true crime documentaries tend to fall into their own cliché where police officers are shown to be, well, useless.  Unfortunately, due to the stories featuring a limited or apathetic police presence, this has become a typical story beat during intense and distressing investigations.  What Jennifer Did runs the risk of falling into streaming obscurity, except it beats the odds by placing more focus on the efforts of the police.  Hold back any “copaganda” accusations because Popplewell’s doc isn’t that type of project either. What Jennifer Did is a tight, sharp-looking examination of workplace practices;  serving as a reminder of the importance of diligence and discipline when finding justice.

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Addison Wylie: @AddisonWylie