ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

THE JAUNDICED EYE

BY L.M.

"The Jaundiced Eye" is a documentary about Stephen Matthews and his father Melvin Matthews, who were wrongfully accused and convicted of molesting Stephen's young son and incarcerated for five years for the crime. Stephen fathered the child when he was just 17, only coming out as a gay man after his son's birth, though it's unclear in the film at exactly what age he did come out. That the film shows no timeline of events is its only weakness. Along with interviewing Stephen, his family, his ex-girlfriend (her face is never show), filmmaker Nonny de la Peña also interviews many psychologists (including those who worked on the trial) and professionals involved with child abuse cases to show a more complete pictures of the difficulty in prosecuting these kinds of cases. Most intriguing and scary is the admonition of the inherent dangers of how easy it is to convince children they have been abused even when they haven't. These flaws and problems associated with questioning children are discussed, and detailed examples are shown from transcripts of Stephen's own son's testimony and how he was given "leading questions" by the supposed professionals interviewing him. "The Jaundiced Eye" shows how a typical battle between exes (in this case, Stephen's son's stepfather seems extraordinarily bothered by both the fact that Stephen is gay and that Stephen's parents were overly doting grandparents) can turn into a sexual abuse case when overzealous prosecutors and a legal system is willing to manipulate the facts. The film also shows how by simply being gay, Stephen had a stacked deck against him with a jury, many of whom still believe the stereotype that gay men are more likely to be child molesters. Though Stephen's son says he was repeatedly raped by his father and grandfather, as well as by objects such as knives and a machete, no physical evidence was ever discovered that corroborated his story. Stephen and Melvin's story is another scary example of basic problems within our justice system, and this strong documentary is able to tell their story effectively. That de la Peña can delve into the defects and problems associated with child abuse cases adds a deeper and sadder edge to the film.