Three people. One American city. Thirty-six years of addiction, petty theft, prison, relapse, and heartbreak — all caught on camera with zero polish and maximum punch.
Trailer for “Life of Crime: 1984–2020”
You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up
- Rob Steffey and Freddie Rodriguez are caught on camera (in the ’80s) running out of stores with stolen boom boxes and VCRs. They are bragging about it moments later.
Watch “Life of Crime: 1984–2020”
You can watch “Life of Crime: 1984–2020” on HBOMax, Hulu, Disney+, and Starz.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 92/100
- IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 91/100 (Users); not yet rated (Critics)
Director’s Note: This is Jon Alpert’s life’s work. He first filmed Rob and Freddie in 1984 for the original “A Year in the Life of Crime,” then followed up with “Life of Crime 2” in 1998.
Release Date: November 30, 2021 (HBO Max)
My Review of “Life of Crime: 1984–2020”
The Setup
Filmmaker Jon Alpert follows three petty criminals (Rob, Freddie, and Deliris) from 1984 to 2020, capturing their descent into drug addiction, theft, and jail time across nearly four decades in Newark, New Jersey.
What starts with shoplifting and street-level bravado turns into a slow-motion tragedy. It includes heroin, HIV, prison, recovery, relapse, and in one case, redemption cut short by COVID.
More Highlights from the Doc
- This doc spans 36 years. Alpert revisits the same people through jail stints, relapses, rehab attempts, and family breakdowns.
- Alpert planned to end the film with Deliris getting a parade and the key to Newark… but COVID derails everything.
- Deliris Vasquez gets so deep into heroin that people on the street assume she’s dead. Years later, she’s leading recovery efforts with war-veteran energy—rattling off “four years, five months, six days” sober.
- Rob gets clean long enough to start a new life with his girlfriend and kids, then disappears. Years later, he re-emerges—thinner, quieter, and using again.
- Freddie gets HIV from sharing needles. He continues to steal even as his body deteriorates from AIDS. It’s hard to watch, but important.
- Jon Alpert never narrates. He just keeps the camera rolling. It gives you space to draw your own conclusions and really sit with the outcomes.
Wrap Up
This is one of the most honest docs I’ve ever seen. Addiction, poverty, prison…it’s all here, up close, with no safety net.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc