“I’m a sin eater, that’s what I do,” Anthony Pellicano is quoted as saying about his business. Hollywood’s fixer private investigator is the subject of the latest installment of The New York Times Presents from FX and Hulu, titled “Sin Eater: The Crimes of Anthony Pellicano.” The case unfolds over two hour-long parts that air back-to-back beginning at 10/9c on Friday, March 10th.
(FX)
Drawing you into the story are several high-profile scandals from the 1990s, headlined by allegations of child abuse by Michael Jackson. Talking head interviewees include journalists familiar with the case, victims of Pellicano’s alleged methods, former FBI agents involved in the investigation, and former employees of Pellicano. Oh yeah, and held closely to the documentary’s chest until the very end of part one, Anthony Pellicano himself!
Yes, Sin Eater is the rare true-crime documentary that actually lets the suspect speak for himself. When all is said and done, it mostly lets you make your own opinion, although the evidence against Pellicano is pretty damning. From illegal wiretapping and blackmail to having people followed and even threatened, the web of sinister activity surrounding Anthony Pellicano is hard to defend as mere coincidence.
Both parts follow the familiar structure of other specials from The New York Times Presents series, including on-camera interviews from producers Liz Day and Rachel Abrams. Archival footage and still photographs are accompanied by newly recorded establishing shots to help tell the story in a visual way. And the project’s journalistic integrity feels fully intact when Michael Ovitz, president of The Walt Disney Company from October 1995 to January 1997, becomes a key player in one of the cases, that of journalist Anita Busch, who was threatened in an effort to kill a story she was working on.
“Sin Eater: The Crimes of Anthony Pellicano” is a bizarrely true story about how absolute power corrupts absolutely. Hubris gets the best of the titular character in this true-crime saga that unfolds over two parts. And with the glitz and grime of Hollywood as its backdrop, the story tears down the plaster facades to show that in Hollywood, pretty much everything is just an act.
The New York Times Presents “Sin Eater: The Crimes of Anthony Pellicano” premieres Friday, March 10th, at 10/9c on FX and Hulu.