#Murder on middle beach gifting tables series

Why Madison decided to repeatedly reference a banal documentary from the fifties explaining the roles of each member of a family is a mystery. The episodes are laced with stylistic tics that become annoying after a while. However, even at its economical running time, the episodes come off as padded. Other documentaries on HBO, like The Vow or I’ll be gone in the Dark, felt indulgent to the point of becoming tedious. Keeping the episodes down to four was a good move. Murder on Middle Beach is an interesting watch. The above is intended as a point of reference for my analysis For a comprehensive timeline, check out this one on HBO’s website: She backpacked through South America and eventually settled in Argentina.

Ali left home when she turned eighteen.

Madison was eighteen at the time of the murder.

Barbara was killed at home on the day she was to appear before a judge on Jeffrey not paying child support or alimony.

Aunt Jill and several others involved with the gifting tables were indicted and sent to prison.

Members of the gifting tables, rightfully believing they have been scammed, contacted local authorities.

Madison’s Aunt Jill introduced Barbara to the “gifting tables”, a pyramid scheme that brought in money while Jeffrey refuses to pay child support or alimony.

Barbara entered Alcoholics Anonymous and stayed sober for a while.

Barbara was questioned by the FBI and Interpol about Jeffrey’s business ventures.

Jeffrey began spending most of his time away from home, focusing on his overseas business ventures.

Jeffrey apparently became involved in a money laundering scheme involving actors in Russia and Saudi Arabia.

After winning that lawsuit, his parents’ marriage began to fall apart.

He later won a libel lawsuit against his former employer for $2 million dollars.

Jeffrey was fired from his position at a regional gas and electric company over perceived illegal activity overseas.

Barbara and Jeffrey had two children: Madison and Ali.

(Members of the extended family confirm this.) Jeffrey had a well paying job, and Barbara’s family was extremely wealthy. His mother (Barbara Beach Hamburg) and his father (Jeffrey Hamburg) had a good marriage and happy family for several years.Using his access to members of his own family, Madison attempts to understand the family history before his mother was killed. Murder on Middle Beach is the result of Madison’s six year exploration into the case. Three years after the murder, with the case still an open investigation, Hamburg got clean and decided to create a documentary on his quest to understand who his mother was, and potentially reveal who killed her. He was eighteen, away at school and heavy into drugs at the time of the murder.

#Murder on middle beach gifting tables series

(Or at least distract us from it.) The series is directed by first-time filmmaker Madison Hamburg, and documents his personal investigation into his mother’s murder. Murder on Middle Beach is another entry in the true crime documentary gold rush that seems to define our pandemic age. While only four episodes, the series feels brief and padded at the same time. The series contains several moments that are very moving, while the segments constructed to induce tension come off as contrived. A true crime documentary series where filmmaker Madison Hamburg attempts to figure out who murdered his mother.