There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane (HBO) | Documentary Review

by Wendy Hearn
(Atlanta, Georgia USA)

Every Monday night HBO is airing their season of documentaries which are always riveting and such a great prototype for good film making. They really know what they are doing over there at HBO, and this particular film, There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane, I can't seem to get out of my head.

One reason the film keeps sticking with me is because the 2009 mystery of what caused Aunt Diane to drive herself and four children in a minivan 70mph in broad daylight for over a mile down the wrong way of a major NY highway causing theirs and 3 others death has yet to be answered.

The filmmakers do their best to investigate and present the few answers they can based on expert forensics, psychiatric analysis, witness testimony, family confusion, and the horrific aftermath. (Be aware however if you watch this film there is a still shot of Diane's mangled body from the accident scene).

The basic gist of the film is to examine how a wife, devoted supermom, and excellent bread winner could have been found at the scene with a toxicology report containing a huge amount of alcohol and marijuana in her system which ultimately causes her to make such a grave error in judgement. Everyone, especially her family, deny that Diane was the sort of woman who could have ever indulged in such behavior while driving with children in her minivan. But indeed DNA and toxicology prove that these things were present in her system at the time of the crash.

After watching the film I have come to my own conclusion as to what motivated Aunt Diane to make such a horrible decision...which I think is why this film works. No one will ever know what happened, but the filmmakers empower you to arrive at a place where you can draw your own conclusions and this dark, complex film stays with you a few days after watching Something's Wrong With Aunt Diane.

Comments for There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane (HBO) | Documentary Review

Average Rating

Click here to add your own comments

Nov 19, 2011
Rating

intrigued
by: Kim D. Brummell

I thought the trailer peaked interest into the dangers of driving. We drive everyday and the roads can be a hazard for adults and kids. When medication or drugs are taken, safety can become a lethal weapon amongst the drivers and passengers. Interested in seeing the whole film.

Kim D. Brummell
"America's Dark Secrets" Documentary

Sep 02, 2011
Rating

A Haunting, Tragic Tale
by: CorgiMom59

I have watched this documentary several times since its premiere, and have found it to be a fair and balanced account of a horrific tragedy. It is impossible not to feel empathy with the Schuler family...what husband would not want to go to the ends of the earth to validate all he believed to be true about his wife? Unless some previously untold information is brought forth, Mrs. Schuler's actions on the date in question appear to be totally out of character. But no one forced her to drink 10 shots of vodka. She had the foresight to have at least one joint rolled and ready to smoke on her journey...was this the norm and no one ever caught on before the collision that took her life and the lives of seven other innocent people? The documentary lets you draw your own conclusions. The only thing I wish the filmmaker had included is home video of Diane so one could get a better idea of the person she was, rather than just images on a surveillance camera, photographs, and the last ghastly image of her deceased body.
This story also includes interviews with the other families so devastated by one woman's horrific decision on that fateful day. This is a story that will in all liklihood never have a satisfactory resolution.

Aug 09, 2011
Rating

Available to rent?
by: Scott

Amazing. I remember hearing about this. I might watch it one day. Does anyone know if it's available to rent or maybe on Netflix? I don't have HBO, so I'll have to find it elsewhere. Thanks for the review!

Aug 09, 2011
Rating

tragic
by: Faith

Thanks for your review. Sounds dark, sad, intriguing.

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Documentary Reviews.