The Giant Killer

RIP Richard Flaherty.. a highly decorated Vietnam Veteran.. a towering figure of a man that struggled throughout his life yet achieving goals that appeared to be insurmountable, Sadly, Veterans of the Vietnam war decorated or not we're not held in high esteem when they came back home and even to this day "they were never told welcome home" ... Officer David Yuzuk of the Aventura police department in Dade county Florida is a very compassionate human being, indeed, truly, without his input, ths story would more than likely not be available to the public as a brilliant documentary. Richard Flaherty was Larger in life at 4 foot nine..!! I only wish there was more footage of Richard himself.. that would've made this documentary 11 stars... we have to support human interest videos in order for more like these to be created..!!!

Wonderfully weird true saga of "nobody" who dies on the streets of Miami. You say, oh, not another homeless vet story! It's much more complex than that because the subject is a complex and interesting man. Richard Flaherty is the proverbial "riddle wrapped in mystery inside an enigma." At 4'9" and 100 lbs he became a Special Forces (aka Green Beret) officer and won a Silver Star. There was deep loss (losing the love of his life), criminal behavior, alcoholism, perhaps, no, surely, madness/mental illness, all combined with PTSD and anxiety. He spent 20+ years on the streets, homeless, somehow surviving on $376 a month. The director, David Yuzuk, is a former police officer who met Richard on the streets in the course of his job. They bonded, became close, over 10+ years, and this first-time effort is very well done. A super professional documentary that delves deep into the life of a noble yet flawed man who accomplished a great deal despite his stature and demons. As a veteran I felt Mr. Yuzuk honored CPT Flaherty and his memory properly and brought dignity to a man who many would likely treat with contempt if they had encountered him on the streets.

An amazing man and an amazing life. So sad that the DA let his life end without the justice it deserved. I can tell you that these men deserve better than America has given to them. Small steps have been made to "make up" for the failures of the past but more and larger steps need to be taken.

It's an interesting documentary, but the description of the movie is misleading and makes it seem as if he died under suspicious circumstances, perhaps related to something from his mysterious past, which is what peaked my interest. The hit and run wasn't suspicious at all, just some distracted/sleepy/drunk driver who didn't bother to stop and confessed to it the next day. Didn't even really need to be part of the film, as other than unfortunately ending his life it had zero to actually do with his life. Had to deduct some stars for that.

From my perspective, the filming was well done. I'll be honest and say I didn't expect the quality of the documentary to be a good as it was. David did a great job on presenting the facts in a way that kept me interested in the whole story line. For me, what was interesting (which I thought he should have led with, the "hook") wasn't until 70% through the movie. Great job David.