The Perfect Neighbor (2025)

[Leisher]

Documentary about an older white woman that shoots and kills a black woman in Florida.

This is hot on Netflix right now, so I watched it on a whim.

All the footage is through news cams, security cams, and body cams. They also play all the 911 calls.

The story overall is just sad. It never should have gotten to the point it did. I personally feel everyone involved bears some responsibility and also garners some sympathy. That is NOT said to alleviate any responsibility from the shooter. Fuck her.

I'm just saying that mistakes were made and/or opportunities missed to avoid the inevitable.

-The landlord somehow only ends up as a 2 second clip of him saying, "Not my problem". What an asshole.
-The shooter did EVERYTHING wrong at every step of the story.
-The parents of the kids should have done more to get their kids to avoid the woman. They also clearly did things that provoked the situation further.
-I feel like the police, while powerless as no real crimes occurred, never really handled the situation properly on any of those previous 911 calls.
-I think we could have a discussion about the elderly in this country, particularly those alone and not well off, and if they represent vulnerable targets for crime or, as in this case, potential violence. How many old people turn out bitter, possessive, territorial, busybodies, Karens, etc.?

There are two statements made about the Stand Your Ground law late in the film that I found to be unnecessary and biased. It fully ignores some other important and relevant facts in order to race bait. I understand the placement, but I felt it hurt the narrative. It ripped me out of waiting for the court scene and made me curious enough to pause the movie and get on IMDB. I looked up the director, and her filmography contained what I expected.

Overall, it's a decently put together documentary about a very sad situation. I don't know why it's #2 in movies on Netflix right now. There are much bigger issues and cases that would seem to warrant more attention? I don't remember this making national news, particularly not like other Stand Your Ground cases. I'd also like to know what the reasoning was behind the title.