It's not everyday that we get a Dateline episode with production values that up the ante but here we are with 2026's The Widower: 'Til Death Do Us Part. And where Dateline has creep-o Keith Morrison getting his creep on doing conniving interviews and making ghostly faces, "Widower" just lets the subjects talk and ponder, describing a killer that looks a little soft but is obviously feared. "We needed to dig further." Uh yeah you did boss. Yeah you did.
Anyway The Widower: 'Til Death Do Us Part is a 90-minute Netflix documentary, streamlined, sterile, and well-made in the baseline, Netflix trail. Yeah some of it feels a little contrived but hey, you knew it all went down in the ether right? Right?
"Widower", well it's about the consumed po-po and a writer trying to uncover the truth about a serial murderer (Thomas Randolph) whose 4 wives (out of six) all died on his watch. There's the usual archives, present-day accounts, timeline-d earnestness, and crisp editing as the film literally unfolds like a tire iron to the gut. The real scene-stealer in "Widower" however, is long-haired Randolph. I mean he's the ultimate sociopath, the poster child for conceit, the Keyser Soze of Utah, and if you squint a little bit the guy has that Renee Richards thing going on because he nearly looks like a chick. "I'm the victim in this." Yikes.
All in all, the only thing The Widower: 'Til Death Do Us Part suffers from is being a little too premeditated and a little too well, outlined. I mean most of the scenes feel like staged reprises as opposed to actual footage. Oh well, "Widower" is compelling enough in its own right and the background music despite what other audience members and critics think, adds some gravitas. Take "part".
Written by Jesse Burleson
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