Law & Order (TV Series) Evil Breeds (2004) User Reviews

Shoah testimony

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 17 November 2020]

When I worked at New York State Crime Victims Board in 1979 I started at our Senior Citizen unit such a case liker this, a push-in robbery of an elderly woman was sadly most common. But the killer of Shirl Bernheim was after more than a piece of her cashed social security check.

The elderly woman was a holocaust survivor and she had just given Shoah testimony for the United Nations. Said testimony capped the process of former S.S. guard George Beckenieff back to the old country for his trial as a war criminal.

Beckinieff is a suspect, but it also looks like he had o neo-Nazi rock band member Logan Marshall Green in on the kill. Green's a piece of work, today he'd be a member of the Proud Boys..

Their defense attorney William Atherton is another snake. He wants to bring in 'expert' testimony about the holocaust never happening.

The climax is Bernheim's testimony at the Shoah hearings on tape and played for the jury. Beautiful, simple, and moviiing.

Only a Medusa would not cry here.

Seeing evil

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 7 July 2022]

Of all the subjects of Season 14, which had a lot of tough and ambitious (as well as topical) subjects covered, that for "Evil Breeds" is one of the toughest and most controversial. Anything that tackles this topic deserve some credit for even trying, and it is not always easy to execute well. It can either be harrowing, intense and moving. Or it could be heavy handed, biased and with too much content that is enough to make one offended.

"Evil Breeds" is luckily in the former category, when it could very easily have been in the latter. It was clear from even reading the synopsis that it was not going to be an easy watch, and "Evil Breeds" did not disappoint in this aspect. It is an outstanding, powerful episode of 'Law and Order' and an outstanding, powerful one in its own way as well. As far as Season 14, a very solid season and only post-Season 10 one without a less than decent episode, goes, it is one of the best.

Pretty much everything is spot on. The production values as ever have slickness and grit, with an intimacy without being claustrophobic. The music has presence when it's used but does so without being intrusive, some of it is quite haunting too. The direction is also understated but the tension never slips, the second half being full of it.

Script is taut and intelligent. It is very intelligently crafted and has intensity and edge, most of it doesn't preach either and tries to not make too much of a judgement. The story is lean and pulls no punches, providing edge of the seat tension and emotion. The tape testimony is indeed heart-wrenching.

Character writing is spot on with genuinely tense conflict in the chemistry for the legal scenes. As is the acting from all the regulars, while Marshall Logan Green is terrifying. William Atherton is at his most snake-like.

Overall, outstanding. 10/10.

Holocaust deniers, cranks, anti-Semites disguising their real agenda.

[Mrpalli77 · 6/10 · 7 December 2017]

A Chinese takeout delivery man noticed an open door in the hallway. There were traces of blood and an old woman (Shirl Bernheim) lied on the floor beaten and smothered to death. The victim had a broken hip so delivery boys took groceries to her home and there were a nurse who took care of her at her residence. A couple of ambulance drivers used to steal stuff from these old age people to supplement their wages, but they were not for sure killers. After the victim's daughter flew from Israel to arrange her mother's funeral, police realized the old lady was a holocaust survivor and that led investigation to a different angle. She was about to testify against a Nazi officer who lived freely in New York City: someone, maybe some Neo-Nazi guys, wanted to keep her mouth shut. A victim footage could play a crucial role in jurors' feelings, but it's up to the judge to allow it, because there were no chance to a cross examination.

A man could be convicted after 60 years from his real crimes. This trial reminds me Priebke, a Nazi low rank officer guilty for Fosse Ardeatine Massacre, whose trial hit the Italian headlines in mid '90.