15 Best Documentaries Of 2020

You may be familiar with the story of D. B. Cooper, the mysterious man who, in the golden age of skyjacking, commandeered a passenger plane, extorted $200,000 cash, and parachuted into the night, never to be seen again. The folktale qualities of the man and his crimes have made him the stuff of American legend, with theories abounding in the near five decades since his disappearance.

In this breezy, informative documentary, John Dower examines four of the most compelling notions as to what Cooper did next. He assembles a cavalcade of brilliant first hand sources, including a woman who believes she overheard her uncle confess to the caper, and a charming couple who were friendly with a transgender woman who purported to have previously been the criminal.

Deeper reading will reveal that many of these views can be more or less struck off on the basis of DNA, but the film is not about finding the truth so much as the enduring power of the mystery and its legacy. Cooper represents a twisted view of the American dream, and whether he froze to death or lived a long, happy life, he’ll always be an alluring outlaw figure for some.