‘Whirlybird’: Our Ugly Obsession With Breaking News [Sundance Review]

Los Angeles. A city that looks like heaven from the sky and hell from the streets below. Whether you refer to the entertainment-fueled landscape as LA, the Southland, or the City of Angels, the Californian metropolis has crafted an unmistakable name for itself. It’s a reputation that is synonymous with stardom, scandals, and smog.

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Over the decades, countless stories have erupted from the overpopulated terrain of Los Angeles. This has created a spectrum occupied by bizarre fables of success on one end and heartbreaking accounts of carnage on the other. Yet, on occasion, both sides of the LA continuum will meet together in the middle, spawning a narrative devoid of heroes or villains, revealing the convoluted morality of the ordinary individual. And that is “Whirlybird.”

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Then again, describing Zoey Tur as ordinary might be the understatement of the century. Audacious and ambitious would probably suit her better. Even if you do not immediately recognize her name, you might know Tur and not even realize it. If you were fortunate enough to watch the decade-defining documentary “O.J.: Made in America” in its entirety, you might remember Tur’s appearances as the helicopter reporter who filmed the historical pursuit of O.J. Simpson.

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In 1995, Zoey Tur was known for being an infamous daredevil who founded the Los Angeles News Service alongside her then-wife and career partner, Marika Gerrard. By the time Simpson sped away from the police in his white Ford Bronco, Tur and Gerrard were already sought-after staples in the LA news scene. The two were renowned for their dedication to capturing the city’s events in a fashion that spiked your pulse and kept your eyes fixed on your TV. Some would call them inspiring; others would label them as obsessed. Regardless of the descriptions they were prescribed, the news ultimately tore the duo apart.

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Composed predominantly of home videos and news footage—most of which is filmed on VHS—“Whirlybird” encapsulates the plight of two individuals emboldened by the opportunity to incite change. Theirs is a mission accompanied by the micro-imperfections and macro-deficiencies of the human heart. Commendably, the documentary does not shy away from depicting Tur and Gerrard at their lowest points, particularly the former party. Still, this unrestricted access into the mindset of the reporters adds to the emotional effect that “Whirlybird” aspires to impart.

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In fact, “Whirlybird” seeks to shine a light on those who watch the news just as much as it documents the manic fixation of those who report the news. Director Matt Yoka parallels the decline of Tur and Gerrard’s marriage with the disintegration of Los Angeles. As the reporters’ relationship worsens, declining to the point of Tur verbally and mentally abusing Gerrard, violence in the news surges. The TV stations call for a focus on “exciting” stories—some of which result in people being shot to death on live television—because events with life-or-death stakes keep people interested.

Visually, the documentary complements this concept. Coinciding with VHS’s inherently grimy texture, “Whirlybird” alternates between a personalized autobiography of Tur and Gerrard, accompanied by smile-inducing anecdotes and home videos, to a stomach-churning history of the modern-day news conglomerate, filled with clips of motorcycle crashes, bleeding corpses and near-dystopic riots. The dream of the picture-perfect family and career success cannot be separated from the nightmare of reckless overachievers and city-wide mayhem. They are one and the same.

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The editing, a task split between Yoka and Brian Palmer, keeps the doc’s battery charged, propelling “Whirlybird” along at a semi-breathless pace that ratchets an emphasis on the reality that Tur and Gerrard encountered on a day-to-day schedule for years. Notably, Tur discussing the detachment that reporters experience when facing tragedy functions as one of the documentary’s highlight moments. It also simultaneously reveals an underdeveloped tangent that might have further serviced the film’s overall message. Nevertheless, “Whirlybird” adheres to its human center by shining the spotlight on its interview subjects, which adds an unmistakable personality to its content.

In a way, Yoka’s nonfiction feature lays out a chronological evolution of the American public’s voyeuristic captivation with violence. This is a sentiment that has carried over into the internet age, where it has, arguably, blossomed. But, despite its ethical complexity, “Whirlybird” does not aspire to condemn any of the parties involved. Alongside violence and deterioration, regret stands out as the documentary’s principal theme, stitching together a portraiture of a family poisoned by a steady dosage of workaholism. Eventually, this work-first approach would get to the point where the relationship between Tur and her family was unsalvageable.

As such, witnessing Tur’s remorseful recollection on her past self enhances the film’s study of consequences. At one point, the reporter mentions that the footage in “Whirlybird” represents all that remains of her connection with her children. It’s too late to change what has already passed. All she has are memories, unalterable memorials to experiences that she observed while hidden behind a camera.

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By devoting oneself to reporting current events, by default, one relinquishes the opportunity to meditate on the moment, in the sense that the news continually moves forward. Once it passes, it is gone. Forever. Once you stop to think in twenty years, you’ll discover that you spent your prime in service of events that no one remembers the following day.

On the whole, “Whirlybird” adheres to journalistic principles. It states facts, not opinions. The documentary neglects to judge Tur’s prior abuse outright, nor does the film decry the role that news plays in perpetuating stereotypes. But, Yoka’s debut feature does not hide the truth either, proving that life is an unpredictable force that possesses no obligation to tie off its loose ends, while concurrently arguing that life, in all of its disorder and despair, deserves to be documented, and honors the chosen few who are up for the challenge in the process. [A-]

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