The new documentary A Thread of Deceit: The Hart Family Tragedy, has a lot of work cut out for itself in its relatively short 57 minute runtime. In March of 2018, two seemingly perfect parents drove themselves and their six adopted African-American children off of a cliff in Northern California. The devastating event sent shockwaves through the country with the parents, Jennifer and Sarah Hart soon vilified after the discovery of a history of abuse toward their kids and the subsequent murder-suicide. The doc spends little time diving into the why, and instead leans into the effects that an insular, social media driven society can have on those suffering silently. While this approach is noble, done with the most compassionate, respectful lens, we are left with few answers, and a doc that is good instead of great.

The film opens on friends and neighbors of the Hart family sharing their first hand experiences with the clan in better times. After moving into the Portland area, parents Jennifer and Sarah became known as the parents in the “perfect” family. Abigail, Hannah, and Markis, adopted in 2006, and Ciera, Devonte, and Jeremiah adopted in 2008, soon became fixtures at events, known for their gregarious and loving nature. There were secrets of course, but no one had any inkling. After a picture of one of the kids, crying and hugging a police officer at a peace rally went viral, there was even more relentless scrutiny. Then the tragedy. Left in the wake is a community clouded in confusion as to how this could have happened, being attacked for showing even the slightest hint of compassion to two women that were hiding deep, very painful secrets.

Here is where the doc both excels and falls short. Covering such painful material is a brave choice. Covering it the way that producers Chris Kobin, Rachel Morgan do is remarkable in its compassion. Their approach is to set aside reaction to the incident and, instead, attempt to reveal how the suffering of everyone involved was hiding in plain sight. It is this same approach to the incident that seems to keep focus on aftermath rather than how the signs of abuse and declining mental health were either ignored or entirely invisible. We only get a mere recounting of how the children ended up with the couple instead of a deeper investigation into the failings of a broken adoption process. We see little in regards to the two women and their history or their mental decline and path to suicide much less murder. It is with these moments that A Thread of Deceit could have been greatly improved and offered more insight into the broken system and silent suffering.

In the end, A Thread of Deceit is a documentary that answers little but teaches a great deal about compassion and looking beyond the surface. It just needed to dig a little deeper.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars