‘The Watcher’ Truth or Fiction?

A scene in the hit 7 part series by Netflix. Bobby Cannavale plays ‘Dean Brannock’ and Nora Brannock is played by ‘Naomi Watts’.

For the Broaddus family, buying 657 Boulevard had fulfilled a dream. Maria was raised in Westfield, and the house was a few blocks from her childhood home. Derek grew up working-class in Maine, then moved his way up the ladder at an insurance company in Manhattan to become a senior vice-president with a salary large enough to afford the $1.3 million house. They had bought 657 Boulevard just after Derek celebrated his 40th birthday, and their three kids were already debating which of the house’s fireplaces Santa Claus would use.

But as Derek kept reading the letter from his new neighbor, it took a turn. “How did you end up here?” the writer asked. “Did 657 Boulevard call to you with its force within?” The letter read as follows: 657 Boulevard has been the subject of my family for decades now and as it approaches its 110th birthday, I have been put in charge of watching and waiting for its second coming. My grandfather watched the house in the 1920s and my father watched in the 1960s. It is now my time. Do you know the history of the house? Do you know what lies within the walls of 657 Boulevard? Why are you here? I will find out.

The movie does a great job at keeping you in suspense. The character portrayals of New Jersians are spot on. I know this because I born and raised here. They could’ve used maybe another F Bomb or two in my opinion. But, they came close enough. In real life. The Westfield residents are over the visitors are over the sudden interest in the historic town. Some life long residents are not flattered about the story even being told. The unwarranted attention has been both frustrating to some and humiliating. None the less. It makes for great television and it’s a true American mystery.

Associated Press Image