Sex Crimes Unit | Review

In the US, one in six women will be the victim of rape or attempted rape, but only 40% of these acts will be reported, whether it be out of fear or embarrassment. The instances that are reported end up in the hands of a Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit, much like the one in New York City currently helmed by Chief Lisa Friel. Director Lisa F. Jackson’s Sex Crimes Unit, observantly follows the sluggish day to day activities in Friel’s office while pursuing a current rape case.

After giving a short history lesson on the legal technicalities of rape and sexual assault from the former heads of the first sex crime unit ever, the doc delves into the daily work life of Chief Friel, who works in the same unit as our initial sex crime historians had. She oversees forty senior assistant district attorneys who she collaborates with daily on a revolving door of cases. Jackson takes us through the motions of putting together a case against an alleged double rapist by collecting evidence against him, and preparing the victim and witnesses for the ensuing trial. Alongside this narrative plays the story of Natasha Alexenko, a New York City rape victim, who candidly tells her story of the initial incident, the trauma that resulted, the trial that followed almost a decade later, and her long road to recovery.

Intermixing standard interviews, and observational footage of meetings, phone calls and court appearances, the film’s slow pace drags through its uneventful, office laden sections. The case Friel and her team are working on is interesting, but the film and its subjects seem to lack the intensity that the term “sex crime” implicates. Unlike what you might expect after seeing an episode of Law & Order: SVU, cases are calm, plodding affairs. Day after day of finding these cases on her desk must have dulled Friel’s emotional reaction, as she seems fairly happy-go-lucky throughout most of the doc. On the other hand, Alexenko’s tail is much more engaging and fleshed out, but it is told solely through interviews, rather than footage of courtroom drama or the like. The resulting combo is a valid, but inert, first hand look into the pursuit of justice for victims of rape in New York City. Sex Crimes Unit, presents its story with privileged access to a real life unit’s daily inner workings with respect, but unfortunately its subjects lack true engrossment.

Rating 2 stars