Journalist David Ferrier enters a cat-and-mouse game with a cunning con man in Mister Organ. In 2016, New Zealand journalist David Ferrier began covering clamping incidents at Bashford Antiques in Auckland, where the owner, Jillian Bashford-Evans, would have a man clamp the cars who illegally parked at the store, charging exorbitant fees to release the clamps. David discovers the man is named Michael Organ, who soon enters into a game of psychological warfare with the journalist.
Mister Organ Synopsis
Mister Organ is the latest documentary from investigative journalist and filmmaker David Ferrier (Tickled). The stranger-than-fiction story of the documentary begins when Ferrier writes about the clamping incidents at Bashford Antiques in Auckland. The story seemingly ends when the store suddenly closes down, and David takes the broken sign home with him. However, David Ferrier is soon charged with thievery of the signs, which mysteriously vanishes from his house, and he discovers that Michael Organ is the “lawyer” of the court case. David Ferrier proceeds to get to know Michael Organ over the next few years, as the two share a very passive-aggressive relationship.
My Thoughts on Mister Organ
Similar to his breakthrough 2016 documentary Tickled, David Ferrier puts himself front and centre of the events of Mister Organ, which finds himself going further down a rabbit hole he didn't expect to descend in the first place. What begins as a stranger-than-fiction character study turns into psychological warfare. Ferrier finds himself repeatedly gaslit by the mysterious Michel Organ, who comes across as a charismatic yet untrustworthy individual.
In one of their earliest meetings, Michael Organ admits to David Ferrier that he has a key to Ferrier's house, though he says that he received it from a third party. This revelation greatly disturbs Ferrier, who has since moved to an unlisted location in North America. Among the facts that David Ferrier learns about Michael Organ is that he once stole a yacht, falsely claimed to be connected to royalty, and probably most disturbingly, drove one of his previous gaslighting victims to suicide.
While it is immediately apparent from the start of Mister Organ that Michael Organ is a non-trustworthy individual who is most likely a conman, the film still builds to a major “aha” moment, showing how much Organ was able to gaslight David Farrier throughout their interactions. Even though more so than Tickled, David Ferrier found himself down a hole, which he is lucky to escape. As such, this makes Mister Organ a recommended documentary for fans of stranger-than-fiction and true-crime stories.
Trailer for Mister Organ
