Some of a man's body parts are found in separate garbage cans and an early suspect is his deaf girlfriend. The investigation soon discovers that this woman is nowhere close to who she seems.Some of a man's body parts are found in separate garbage cans and an early suspect is his deaf girlfriend. The investigation soon discovers that this woman is nowhere close to who she seems.Some of a man's body parts are found in separate garbage cans and an early suspect is his deaf girlfriend. The investigation soon discovers that this woman is nowhere close to who she seems.
Photos
- DA Arthur Branch
- (as Fred Dalton Thompson)
- Dr. John Faruzzi
- (as Lee Sellars)
- Irv Groener
- (as John DiBenedetto)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis episode appears to be based on the 2003 Robert Durst case in Galveston, Texas. Durst was an American real estate heir and convicted murderer. The eldest son of New York City real estate magnate Seymour Durst, he gained attention as a suspect in the unsolved 1982 disappearance of his first wife Kathleen McCormack (also known as Kathie Durst), the 2000 murder of his long-time friend Susan Berman, and the 2001 killing of his neighbor Morris Black. Acquitted of the latter most in 2003, Durst did not face further legal action until his participation in the documentary The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst (2015), led to him being charged with Berman's murder. Durst was convicted of the murder in 2021 and sentenced to life in prison without parole. He was charged with McCormack's disappearance shortly after his sentencing but died in 2022 before a trial could begin. Maledictus (2002) and Devil's Dissections (2015) are also based on the Durst case.
- GoofsThe ME isn't able to determine Roger Barry's cause of death because his head and hands are not among the body parts that are found; she can only say that he is "either a Hispanic or African-American male." After Dets. Green and Briscoe have questioned multiple people in the neighborhood and find people who remember Mr. Barry (though they don't know his name), Green laments that they're still looking for "either a Hispanic or African-American male". The detectives should have asked these people whether Barry was Hispanic or African-American.
- Quotes
Jack McCoy: [cross-examining Madison] So, Mr Madison, did you call the police when your friend Roger Barry died?
Eli Madison: No.
Jack McCoy: What were the circumstances of his death?
Eli Madison: He had a heart attack.
Jack McCoy: A heart attack? Are you a doctor?
Eli Madison: [rolls eyes] No.
Jack McCoy: Did you call an ambulance?
Eli Madison: No.
Jack McCoy: Why not?
Eli Madison: I thought I might be blamed for what happened to him.
Jack McCoy: Just as you thought you might be blamed for your friend Dwayne Evans's accident?
Eli Madison: Yes.
Jack McCoy: Just as you thought you might be blamed for the disappearance of your wife Caroline?
Eli Madison: Yes.
Jack McCoy: Blamed for a disappearance, an accident, and a heart attack?
Eli Madison: [interrupting, frantic] The police, they were out to get me!
Jack McCoy: With three dead bodies, can you blame them?
Luckily, on the whole Season 14's "Hands Free" was not one of those episodes. It was not executed perfectly, with one half being a little more compelling than the other and one major revelation doesn't really work, but it always intrigued and probed thought and on the whole "Hands Free" is a very good episode. Not one of Season 14's best, or a 'Law and Order' high point, but definitely recommended due to so many good things working.
It does start off on the ordinary and familiar side, with familiar plot tropes, though it still intrigued and Briscoe and Green are a great team. The conclusion is somewhat over-crowded and rushed.
My biggest problem though was that it really was a stretch that the perpetrator was able to get away with their facade for so long without any suspicion.
However, the acting is excellent in lead and support and the character writing doesn't come over as stereotyped or bland. The story becomes a good deal more interesting when things turn out not what they seemed at first, and the turn in the plot is not handled abruptly or jarringly. The case also becomes more intricate and more tense and disturbing.
Furthermore, "Hands Free" doesn't look drab or gaudy, and the editing is far from slapdash. The music avoids getting too melodramatic in the more dramatic moments while not being too low key, it has always been a good move that it is used relatively sparingly. The direction especially shines in the character interaction in the second half. The script is beautifully balanced, there is a lot of talk but taut enough to avoid it from waffling.
All in all, very well done. 7.5/10.
- TheLittleSongbird
- Jul 7, 2022