The smiling family on the outside and the tortured family on the inside of 722 North Elm Drive, Beverly Hills are chillingly depicted; glimpses of depravity sandwiched between a carefully constructed portrait of family success-the Latino American dream.
In the history of true crime stories, few cases endure like the murder trials of the Menendez brothers, who shot their parents while they were watching television in their mansion during the summer of 1989. Not one but three separate trials, two in 1993 which ended in mistrials. A third trial in 1996 with a judge who disregarded their abuse claims sent Cuban American brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez to prison for 35 years without parole for the double murder of their parents.
The story is full of twists without being too complicated: essentially, fifteen years of regular, methodical sexual and mental abuse for Lyle and twelve for Erik at the hands of their powerful father Jose, and the silent consent of mother Kitty did a number on their sons, who felt their only survival recourse was to kill or be killed by Jose. Kitty Menendez, fully aware that her husband was abusing their sons sexually, did nothing and paid the ultimate price.
‘Monsters’: A stream TV revival
Kitty is played by Chloe Sevigny with icy calm and seething resentment. Actor Cooper Koch who brilliantly and vulnerably portrays Erik, the younger Menendez brother emphasizes “These are “portraits and not a documentary, three years of research went into building the incredible depiction.”
Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menéndez. (L-R) Nicholas Chavez as Lyle Menendez, Chloë Sevigny as Kitty Menendez, Javier Bardem as Jose Menendez, Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez in Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024
For months the murder was unsolved; brothers went undetected. Then, a suicidal Erik confides in their [unethical] psychiatrist, and the powder keg blows. As the series unfolds, the riveting performances by Javier Bardem, as Jose, Cooper Koch as Erik and Nicolas Alexander Cruz as Lyle craft a compelling portrait of a ticking time bomb inside the six-bedroom Beverly Hills mansion.
“Monsters” Series Creator, mega-producer Ryan Murphy, Hollywood king of shock and scares, father of the endless incarnations of “American Horror Story” announced, “This show is the best thing that’s happened to those men in 30 years.”
Murphy’s “Monsters” collection began with the gut-churning story of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. The Menendez Story is considerably more entertaining. This complicated. emotionally draining and riveting family story came to fruition with his usual hands-on approach.
Murphy knew that he wanted Javier Bardem to play the bombastic, mercurial, unsavory dad, Jose Menendez.
No stranger to larger-than life, intense portrayals, Bardem is famous for his workshopping characters and going deep, inside and out. His background in theatre is evident in his inclusive approach to the sensitive project.
“We…I mean the whole team…we were talking before about the show”, Bardem said. “It’s very dramatic and speaks about many very heavy issues. But the way it was made was with lots of love, attention, and care. A lot of work. But I think everybody was taking very good care of each other. Mm-hmm. And that’s what makes this experience very special and unique because I think we went to, we went deep into a lot of heavy stuff, but we came back.”
Bardem continues: “It felt safe because we were surrounded by beautiful people doing things with lots of love and if there is something that the show shows is that the lack of love can really perpetuate pain for generation.” He had his own heavy eyebrows covered to latch onto Jose’s odd persona.
Javier Bardem plays Jose Menendez, Erik and Lyle’s father. (Photo: Derek Reed)
Bardem recalled “He [Jose] had this strange look, these very thin eyebrows, and I have these thick eyebrows, that helped me get into the character.” He laughs.
“So and I don’t know what I’m talking about, but yeah, my look… I was…obsessed with the eyebrows because I think his eyes were very important. And when I saw the pictures of him, these thin eyebrows were very important in that place.”
Watching the explosive, intense hypnotic performance the Oscar-winning Spanish actor, it’s hard to imagine anyone else having the cojones to play this complicated self-made egomaniac with his bank vault of control issues. A character that grooms his sons over years with sexual and mental abuse is not a role that many Latino actors might eagerly embrace. Intimate scenes were very carefully directed.
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Bardem had ideas to tackle the hard shower and seduction scenes. “That was very kind of uncomfortable to look at, and we [the cast], and Ryan was open to try it, and we did it. And it worked out. He did a great job.”
A raw story that prevails in popular culture
Villains abound in “Monsters.” Bardem exudes a macho, must-do, manipulative, merciless drive: he had plenty to draw from, Jose Menendez, a high-profile guy was prominent in the media. Bardem captures perfectly the twisted duality of this father with his burning ambitions for his sons in sports and educational aspirations. Jose Menendez often said he wanted to run for senator.
Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menéndez. (L to R) Nicholas Chávez as Lyle Menéndez, Javier Bardem as José Menéndez, Cooper Koch as Erik Menéndez in episode 201 of Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story. Miles Crist/Netflix © 2024
Lyle and Erik were imperfect props. On the stand Lyle testified that Jose threatened him if he told anyone about the sexual doings, “He would kill us.”
A Cuban immigrant in the US who willed himself as a deal-maker into the upper-class lifestyle of Beverly Hills, Jose Menendez, an executive at RCA Records signed top Latino talent including Menudo, the boy band that produced Latin superstar Ricky Martin.
In May 2023, Rolling Stone Magazine published Chris Vognar’s story covering a previous documentary, Menendez + Menudo, for Peacock. It didn’t make such a splash as Monsters, but details connected/supported the Lyle and Erik claim.
Vognar wrote; “In the three-part docuseries, former Menudo member, Roy Rosselló, has claimed that Jose Menendez, then an executive at RCA Records (which signed Menudo to a multimillion-dollar contract), raped him as well, in the family’s New Jersey home. The implication in the docuseries that Díaz offered Rosselló to Menendez as a means to seal the deal.”
In a house with maids and staff, one might ask how did this mayhem go unchecked? It didn’t. Silence, bullying, and lavish gifts kept the family’s secret abuse locked behind the double doors. The house on North Elm has been sold and resold four times; a longtime tourist bus stop; the Netflix series clocked 1 million views in the first 4 days of its release and the tour busses are back.
Kyle and Erik Menendez’s 1996 life sentences without parole for the murders in 1989 are now under consideration by Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon for resentencing that could lead to release. Evolved perspective on PTSD psychological damage of a decade plus of sexual abuse, Netflix’ fictionalized “Monsters” series and a very well-timed and separate documentary “The Menendez Brothers,” highlight their recovery, and offer evidence for their rehabilitation.
The Menendez case today
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón is seeking resentencing for Lyle and Erik Menendez, opening a path for potential release after 35 years. Gascón filed a motion for resentencing 50 years to life. A Superior Court judge has the final word. The brothers were younger than 26 at the time of the murders. They would be eligible for parole immediately if a judge follows his resentencing recommendation.
However, on Nov. 25, a judge delayed until January 2025 his decision on whether to re-sentence Erik and Lyle Menendez for the murder of their parents, ruling out any hope the family had that the brothers would be freed and They will return home for the holidays.
Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic said at the hearing in Los Angeles that he needed time to review 17 boxes of documents and give a new Los Angeles County district attorney time to weigh in on the case.
“I’m not ready to move forward,” Jesic said, setting the hearing for the resentencing request for Jan. 30 instead of Dec. 11 as originally planned.
