Crime
Long Bright River
Long Bright River is a fairly standard mystery thriller with a big theme at its core: choices. But its problematic content makes it a touch choice to watch.
If there’s one thing our culture can’t get enough of, it’s true crime. There’s nothing people like more, it seems, than popping on a podcast or documentary and digging into the details of a real-life mystery—or so the overwhelming demand for true crime content would have you believe.
And if it’s a shocking, twist-and-turns tragedy that audiences want, Burden of Guilt definitely fits the bill. Through a series of interviews and archival footage, this docuseries tells the story of a woman with a troubled past searching for her brother’s killer.
Tracyraquel Berns was only a toddler when her infant brother, Matthew, was found dead, and Tracy has spent her whole life believing she accidentally threw him from his crib and killed him. But 25 years after Matthew’s death, new information comes to light, and Tracy is left questioning all that she thought she knew. Was it really her fault? Or was there something more nefarious going on?
True crime can be a tricky beast to tackle. At its best, it tells stories of victims finding justice and loved ones finding closure. At its worst, the victims are exploited for shock value, and the grief of loved ones is twisted into cheap entertainment. A tragedy that turned a family’s life inside out becomes something to play in the background while you do your laundry.
Burden of Guilt, thankfully, leans toward the better side of true crime. The series is based on a podcast of the same name, about which the creators wrote, “It was our goal to tell [Tracy’s] story for the first time. We wanted people to understand the level of bravery and personal sacrifice it took to expose what really happened.”
Tracy drives the docuseries by telling her own story in her own words. The effects of Matthew’s death are stated as facts rather than overly sensationalized, and the details are relayed with as much taste as possible. No gory images or extensive, shock-inducing descriptions to be found here.
There’s a strong value of life present, too. Despite being only four months old at the time of his death, Matthew is treated with as much respect as any adult. When Tracy resurrects his case after 25 years, detectives and medical examiners waste no time in dedicating their best efforts to finding the truth. It’s almost as touching as it is harrowing when the detectives wrestle with their guilt over digging up Matthew’s grave to perform an autopsy.
Of course, this is the story of the death (and possibly murder) or a four-month-old, and the show’s difficult premise can’t be avoided. Matthew died of severe head trauma after presumably falling out of his crib, and there are some disturbing mental images evoked through descriptions of his death. There’s also discussion of Tracy and her her mother’s traumatic childhoods, which include drug abuse, attempted suicide, teen pregnancy and a forced abortion. Nothing is shown in detail, and Tracy describes these events as matter-of-factly as possible. Still, it’s difficult to talk about a mother abusing and neglecting her child in a way that’s not disconcerting.
There are a huge range of opinions to be had about true crime. Some find it fascinating, while others find it tasteless. Whatever your stance, you can take comfort in knowing that Burden of Guilt steers clear of exploiting its subjects or sensationalizing a tragedy.
Still, the subject matters dealt with here aren’t for everyone. Prepare for some dark discussions if you choose to reopen this cold case.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at [email protected], or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
Twenty-five years after the death of her infant brother, Matthew, Tracyraquel Berns makes a realization that changes everything she thought she knew about the tragedy. She resolves to do whatever it takes to uncover the truth and find justice for Matthew.
Traumatic situations are discussed throughout the episode. Matthew’s death, of course, is at the center of everything that occurs. The four-month-old died from a head injury, and medical examiners describe the severity of the wound with the intention of showing that it couldn’t have been from simply falling out of his crib. A police officer describes a murder in which a fellow officer was shot four times in the chest, and another case in which a pregnant woman was shot in the abdomen.
Tracy recalls her mother, Kathie, attempting to kill herself by jumping from a balcony (she survived with both arms and legs broken). As a teenager, Tracy was suicidal as well. She describes how she hoarded medication and unsuccessfully attempted to overdose. Tracy claims her father physically abused her after she asked to see Matthew’s grave. These events are illustrated through vague footage of windows, pills, etc. rather than explicit imagery.
Tracy tells stories of Kathie’s complicated relationship with her husband, Jan. Kathie became pregnant at 15, and her mother tricked her into getting an abortion. Later, Kathie became pregnant again and had Tracy, though she and Jan were not yet married. Kathie married another man, but she cheated on him with Jan and left her husband to marry him.
Tracy says her parents would send her out to buy beer and cigarettes when she was a child, and a pack of cigarettes is shown onscreen. Pills are shown in a pillbox when she discusses her attempted suicide.
Angels are depicted on Matthew’s gravestone. Tracy says that believing she killed her brother was like being in “a living hell.” A detective investigating the case says, “No matter your beliefs, you have to believe God knew the truth.”
Lauren Cook is serving as a 2021 summer intern for the Parenting and Youth department at Focus on the Family. She is studying film and screenwriting at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. You can get her talking for hours about anything from Star Wars to her family to how Inception was the best movie of the 2010s. But more than anything, she’s passionate about showing how every form of art in some way reflects the Gospel. Coffee is a close second.
Long Bright River is a fairly standard mystery thriller with a big theme at its core: choices. But its problematic content makes it a touch choice to watch.
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