I've often struggled with the concept of true crime as entertainment over education. When we binge-watch new documentaries, the line between the two is often indistinguishable, but with new Hulu series Friends Like These: The Murder of Skylar Neese, the background speaks for itself.
In a nutshell, 16-year-old Skylar Neese vanishes from her West Virginia home, leaving her family and community in turmoil. As the search for answers intensifies, attention turns toward Skylar’s closest friends, uncovering "a tangled web of secrets, betrayal, and identity" as Hulu and Disney+ (for international fans) put it.
It's clear that the community worked together to achieve the end product and tell Skylar's story — something director Clair Titley confirms when I talk to her. But I can't help but be left with another concern.
"The FBI wants to help people, at the end of the day"
"First of all, it's completely natural," Ambrosini begins. "People are very apprehensive about talking to someone in a law enforcement setting, but by and large, I would ask that they remember this. People enter law enforcement because they want to provide a service. They want to help people at the end of the day, and I think that does come out.
"No one ever wants a knock on the door to be the FBI, do they? That's usually not someone's ideal day. That being said, if someone is nervous about something, nine times out of 10 we'll talk about it and I can address that specific concern."
He continues, "The profession of law enforcement is a service-related calling, and I think when they're talking to someone that they truly care. They want to get to the truth, wherever the truth leads. It can be painful at times, but ultimately, they want to get to the ground truth. So I do understand the apprehensive feelings."
If everyone in the FBI was like Ambrosini, I'd never worry a day in my life again. Warm, engaging and naturally disarming, it's unsurprising that he was asked to appear in the documentary... something that tapped into his own worries.
"To be truthful, I was probably a little bit conflicted," he adds. "Traditionally, growing up in the FBI, we tend to be a little bit out of the media. We usually don't go out there and publicly make statements.
"But I had heard the case profiled on various other outlets previously, on podcasts and things like that. And it was done in a very linear, clinical fashion, where it was used as a backdrop for a broader true crime approach. Once I got authority to publicly speak on this from the FBI, and I met the team participating and was really taken aback by the care used to tell Skylar's story.
"I have to tell you, it really is a beautiful representation of Skylar and her family. And when I saw the final product, I was so impressed by seeing things through the lens of her friends, which feels appropriate. [Skylar's parents] Dave and Mary play a huge role as well. It's not my nature to kind of go out and do this, but they all made it very comfortable."
Moral of the story... there's a little bit of kindness everywhere.
Episodes of Friends Like These: The Murder of Skylar Neese are on Hulu (US) and Disney+ (international) from March 6.
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