Our take
I’ve seen my fair share of true crime documentaries, and a major complaint I have is about how directors tend to overdramatize the story, so much so that it achieves the opposite effect for me. I feel desensitized and irate when the music swells to usher in yet another cliffhanger. So it’s refreshing to see almost none of that in Cowboy Cartel, which is well-edited and gripping enough to keep you hooked till its finale. Of course, the downside to stripping a crime story of sensationalism is that it can get boring in its straightforwardness. This happens more than a few times in Cowboy Cartel, and it doesn’t help that its main interviewee, FBI Agent Scott Lawson, recounts events in a sleepy and monotonous tone. Still, it’s tightly edited, well-researched, and intriguing case. The documentary itself may not always match its energy, but when it does, it’s a show that’s very hard to put down.
The story
When a rookie FBI agent uncovers a massive money laundering operation in American horse racing, he risks his life to take down the culprits: Mexico's deadliest cartel.
Tells the true story of how a rookie FBI officer helped crack the case of an elaborate money laundering scheme run by the most dangerous Mexican drug cartel.
For a show that leans so much on the horse and cowboy aesthetic, it oddly leaves so much out in the story, even though they’re clearly relevant.
This is for people sick of sensationalist, hyperdramatic crime documentaries.
The details
Streaming arrival
Who picked it
Renee Cuisia is the lead curator at A Good Movie to Watch. In her spare time, she likes to watch K-dramas and analyze them to death. She's also seen You've Got Mail one too many times but is still convinced it's one of the greatest films out there.
