The Perfect Neighbor

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The Perfect Neighbor

R

Oct 2025

1h 36m

Documentary

Crime

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

61 Reviews

77%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

A seemingly minor neighborhood dispute in Florida escalates into deadly violence. Police bodycam footage and investigative interviews expose the consequences of Florida's "stand your ground" laws.

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Critics Consensus

As gripping as it is deeply unsettling, The Perfect Neighbor lays bare the systemic failures and the quiet terror embedded in American legal systems with surgical precision.

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Jessica Winter

The New Yorker

I haven’t felt such visceral and intensely gendered loathing for a documentary termagant since “Dear Zachary.”

Oct 18, 2025

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Anita Singh

Daily Telegraph (UK)

As a way of capturing the horrors of that night, the spareness of the film-making is powerful. But in terms of giving us the full picture, it falls short.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 17, 2025

Full Review

Kyle Smith

Wall Street Journal

The climax, in which police slowly drag the truth out of the central figure, is harrowing.

Oct 16, 2025

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Justine Elias

The Arts Desk

The Perfect Neighbor is a hard watch, and not just because the shaky, fish-eye lensed footage, ably assembled by editor Viridiana Lieberman, can induce vertigo and nausea in viewers.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 21, 2025

Full Review

Alison Lanier

Pajiba

The film is intimate, painful, vital, and messy. I think only a family friend could have made this documentary in a way that didn’t feel invasive, instead grieving with and for the Owens family.

Oct 20, 2025

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Rua Fay

Cinemasters

a brilliant piece of work that proves fiction will never hold a candle to reality.

Oct 20, 2025

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Gareth D

Absolutely gut wrenching and heart breaking, I'm not sure I've ever hated someone quite so much.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/21/25

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Alexander J

Truly depressing and tragic story but one that needs to be told and its done with grace

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/21/25

Full Review

Gareth v

Director Geeta Gandbhir delivers a searing, unflinching documentary that turns a seemingly mundane suburban dispute into a powerful indictment of systemic injustice. What makes the film extraordinary is its restraint and clarity: instead of dramatized reconstructions or heavy-handed narration.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/21/25

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Miguel M

Like a boring episode of COPS stretched for almost 2 hours.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

10/21/25

Full Review

Dr M

I wouldn’t live in that neighborhood for any amount of money. Those children need discipline.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

10/21/25

Full Review

Jerry G.

Basically another documentary flipped around to show another way of looking at a horrible event.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/21/25

Full Review

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Geeta Gandbhir

Director

Nikon Kwantu

Producer

Geeta Gandbhir

Producer

Alisa Payne

Producer

Sam Bisbee

Producer

Sam Pollard

Executive Producer

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Synopsis

A seemingly minor neighborhood dispute in Florida escalates into deadly violence. Police bodycam footage and investigative interviews expose the consequences of Florida's "stand your ground" laws.

Director: Geeta Gandbhir
Producer: Nikon Kwantu, Geeta Gandbhir, Alisa Payne, Sam Bisbee
Distributor: Netflix
Production Co: Message Pictures
Rating: R (Language)
Genre: Documentary, Crime
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 10, 2025, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 17, 2025
Runtime: 1h 36m

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