Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
The title of the Netflix documentary “What Jennifer Did” is such a dead giveaway that even those who’ve never heard of the Jennifer Pan case can guess what happened. Nonetheless, it’s a rather shocking case from a quiet neighborhood in Canada’s Markham city, where two residents were shot in their home, one of them dying immediately, while the other was left in a coma. Their young daughter, Jennifer Pan, was the only eyewitness to what seemed like a random shooting to the police. The home invasion crime sent the entire neighborhood into a tizzy and jolted the cops into quick action.
Directed and written by Jenny Popplewell, “What Jennifer Did” begins with a harrowing phone call to the police, during which Jennifer reports that intruders have barged into her house and shot at her parents. In the background, her father can be heard wailing in pain. It’s an intense start, which will immediately draw viewers into the tale. With no other witness, Jennifer becomes the primary focus of the case. What follows next is the quintessential tale of truth that seems just a tiny bit stranger than fiction.
“What Jennifer Did” is gripping only because of the original footage of Jennifer’s interviews with the police, starting from her initial witness statement regarding the violent crime that unfolded in her home, to follow-up interviews conducted after more facts about the Pan family come to light. While it took some time for the investigators to piece together all the pieces of the case, what emerges as the ultimate truth is quite tragic.
The documentary includes interviews with the officers who investigated the case, a friend of Jennifer’s, and a friend of her mother. However, it’s unfortunate that the creators couldn’t get any relatives of the Pan family for interviews. The two friend interviews that the team did secure lacked substance; they felt more like acquaintances that the creators had to settle for.
Given the number of documentaries Netflix has been churning out of late, its executives should simply consider creating a non-fiction true crime series with one-hour-long episodes, each focusing on a different story. In its current form, “What Jennifer Did” should’ve been part of such a series instead of being a standalone 90-minute documentary. Despite the spoiler-ridden title, it’s an intriguing watch for true-crime fans who aren’t familiar with the case.
Rating: 6 on 10. Watch it on Netflix.
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