Mister Organ

Summary

“I think once Organ latches on, he doesn’t let go.”

Drafthouse Films was one of my absolute favorite labels for its abbreviated existence last decade. In many ways, I credit that label for helping to expand my oeuvre out of the Criterion Collection and into the numerous labels that I know and love now such as Arrow Video, Vinegar Syndrome, and Severin Films amongst others. Sadly, Drafthouse Films essentially disappeared after a string of solid releases which I purchased (Miami Connection and Dangerous Men remain just as enjoyable and inexplicable as when I first viewed them.) Luckily – they’re back. One of the first films to be released on the revived Drafthouse Films label is David Farrier’s new documentary Mister Organ. This was reason for celebration, because my wife and I loved David’s excellent Netflix series Dark Tourist. I also thought his documentary film Tickled was wonderfully done. David Farrier is an investigative journalist from New Zealand who has a knack for exploring somewhat bizarre material. He is also very funny, so his reporting appeals to me. I watched Mister Organ once before I interviewed him. I wanted to watch the film once more before writing a review because the film struck me as having a quality which demanded another viewing.

The film starts in the present day as David Farrier approaches an abandoned psychiatric center with hopes of finding more answers regarding certain questions from his investigation. Five years earlier, David had begun writing a few articles on a strange occurrence that took place in front of Bashford Antiques and Interiors – a store that sat on a high priced street in his hometown in Auckland, New Zealand. A small sign noted that the parking spots in front of the business were for Bashford Antiques customers only. At nighttime, a man was blocking in or clamping tires of those who parked there past the business’s hours of operation. This bearded man would proceed to extort them for hundreds of dollars before letting them move their vehicle. Jillian Bashford had apparently taken a hard stance on people parking in front of her business after business hours and had hired an aggressive man to threaten to put a clamp on folk’s cars until they pay the exorbitant fees – as high as seven hundred dollars. While perfectly legal, it was also ridiculous, so David began to write articles on it. These articles become viral and suddenly the antiques shop gains a lot of media attention. Watching the interviews, David is struck by how strange it is that Jillian is seemingly always accompanied by this man whom she has seemingly hired to clamp these cars. Strangely enough she claims in an interview that she has nothing to do with Premiere and that they are purely the company she has hired to the clamping. Intrigued, David reaches out to her. After clamping and extorting hundreds of victims, Jillian sends threats via email to anyone who speaks out about it from an attorney with the name MDA Organ. There is no lawyer with that name. This leads David down a rabbit hole regarding Michael Organ, who at one point claimed in court that he was a prince. Realizing this Michael Organ is the mysterious clamper, he begins a full scale investigation. David soon realizes what a sociopathic conman he has come up against. As he investigates Michael and the numerous people he has preyed upon, seeing the wake of destruction and paranoia he has left behind, David also falls victim to the same types of harassment inflicted by Michael Organ. Mister Organ seemingly enjoys the tete-a-tete between them, and as David continues to make his documentary he is essentially trapped in a prison of his own making – forced to deal with an incredibly unpleasant personality who is as manipulative and diabolical as they come. Along the way, David interviews an incredible array of normal and abnormal characters who in some way were impacted by Mister Organ’s actions.

From yacht stealing scams to fake nobility claims to Michael Organ’s willingness to meet extensively with the investigative journalist that is investigating him – this is a wild ride. If you have seen David Farrier’s other film Tickled, the investigative procedures are similar and bizarrely enough the villains of both of these films are somewhat similar in that they both use any legal means that they can to harass people. While the film starts as a fairly straightforward documentary, it becomes very different once David becomes a victim himself of Michael Organ’s legal wranglings and paranoia inducing harassment.

Organ’s ability to prey on individuals that he locates weakness in – largely soft spoken homosexual males – also reminded me of aspects of the villainous troll in David’s film Tickled. David has a knack for engaging with very difficult persons. The difference is that in the case of Mister Organ, when David is harassed and mentally harangued by Michael Organ, the man has seemingly endless patience for causing disruption for his perceived enemies and for those under his influence. 

At one point in the picture, it is clear that David has become so distraught by his meetings with Michael that he breaks down and cries. He doubts whether or not he should continue the documentary. I can’t recall seeing another documentary in which this occurs but it felt extremely honest. Documentary filmmaking is an interesting format, especially for investigative journalists, and in a case like this the filmmaker is forced to follow the story where it goes in real time. Looking online, the film has garnered overwhelmingly positive reviews. The chief criticism that the film has faced is that the final third of the film feels somewhat slower as the interactions between David and Michael become more tortuous for David and also for the audience. David faces some stonewalling in terms of inability to interview some of Michael’s family members, and therefore a lot of the final third features a lot of discussion with Michael, which actually does lead somewhere, but it takes some time. That said, watching the film twice now, I feel like that unpleasantness in the final third actually is what completely conveys to the audience the ability of Michael to induce paranoia and terrorize his victims. What sticks with the viewer is that truly despicable men like this exist and function in some sort of legal limbo in which they seemingly never receive the full extent of the justice they deserve.

Mister Organ is a wild film and another solid documentary by David Farrier. I look forward to seeing what strange path he walks us down next. 

Video

Mister Organ arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Drafthouse Films encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer. Mister Organ was shot on digital film and was made with a 4K master. Like most digitally filmed documentaries, the film looks very nice on Blu-ray. The cinematography by Dominic Fryer is thoughtful – typically relying on a two camera setup for interviews for one wide and one tight shot which allows the viewers to take in the surroundings of the speakers. I did not notice any compression issues.  

Audio

Mister Organ is presented with a well made DTS HD-MA 5.1 track. Like the video, the audio presentation is a very accurate replication of the original sound design of the picture. Like all documentaries, dialogue is the central focus of the picture. That said, there is a very thoughtful and foreboding score by composer Lachlan Anderson. The dialogue and the score are rendered very clearly. 

Supplements:

• Audio Commentary: Director David Farrier, producer Emma Slade, DP Dominic Fryer, and editor Dan Kircher obviously have a good working relationship and bounce off of each other to discuss numerous aspects of the film’s construction.
• The Making of Mister Organ with David Farrier: in this interview, David Farrier discusses the origin of the project, his thoughts on Michael Organ and Jillian Bashford, and other aspects of the film’s production. He also takes the time to commend the folks who worked with him on the picture. It’s an enjoyable piece.
• Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.5/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 3.5/5

Overall – 4.5/5

Mister Organ is another fascinating documentary by investigative journalist David Farrier. Fans of Dark Tourist and Tickled should feel right at home in the strange world that David presents. Once again, David throws himself into the crosshairs of a sociopathic conman who uses legal means to harass people and who thrives on the mental torture he puts people through. In this case, David finds himself a victim of the tactics of the man he seeks to expose. The documentary is very well done and only suffers from the difficulty of listening to the nonsensical diatribes of the insufferable and mean spirited villain at the center of the film’s focus. That issue is somewhat necessary in order for the audience to completely understand how Mister Organ functions. The film serves as a great reminder that there are certain diabolical people out there that live in a legally precarious zone where they can seemingly harass at will without facing any type of serious consequences regardless of the mental harm they cause to others. Drafthouse Films has presented the film on Blu-ray with strong technical specs, a well done audio commentary track, and an enjoyable interview with David Farrier in the special features. Check it out!

The film can be purchased at www.moviezyng.com.