Boston Strangler

A number of reviewers, especially those who claim to be 'true crime buffs' dismiss this fim as boring, average, slow and not really true crime. They are wrong on every count. I can only presume they were expecting some graphic, violent retelling of the Boston Strangler crimes and they completely missed the point. This is an intelligent and gripping account of first rate journalism, police incompetence and the likely truth behind these shocking murders. The sexism shown to Loretta McLaughlin and Jean Cole was very real and not something drummed up to satisfy a 2020s audience as some claim and despite that, these two women did more to unearth the truth about the Boston Strangler killings than the police. The performances by Kiera Knightley and Carrie Coon are subtle and believable, indeed the whole cast is good. It shows that one doesn't need relentless action and over the top histrionics to tell a good story. This is the realistic side of true crime: hard work, dogged determination and the courage to face the horrific nature of these crimes and keep searching for the truth. I suspect that what some of these, presumably male viewers, did not like is that it is the two women and their remarkable work that is the focus of this film and not simply the Strangler. Personally I think it is good to see another side of the story and one that is not so well known.

It's an interesting movie with a frightening story, where by the title it may seem that the whole movie will be about Boston Strangler, but in reality, the main focus is on character of Keira Knightley who gave an excellent performance. Many people didn't like the "too dark" style of the film, but as for me, it gave the movie "feelings of fear and cold".

There are some moments that I didn't particularly like: little attention was paid to the relationship between the main character Loretta with her husband, and overall the frames with the family were inserted very chaotically. Also, the ending came out too crumble and confusing. But if you like movies such as Zodiac, Se7en, Prisoners, you should know these movies are certainly better :) But most likely you won't regret the time spent watching Boston Strangler.

My Review- Boston Strangler

My Rating 7/10 Streaming on Disney

This very interesting story is not a remake of any of the previous movie or television adaptations about the horrific murders of at least 11 women from the Boston area between 1962 and 1964.

It's the untold story of the unsung heroines two reporters Loretta McLaughlin played by Keira Knightly and Jean Cole played by Carrie Coon.

These two women were the first to link the murders of at least 11 women in the Boston area between in the early 1960's to one man known as The Boston Strangler by examining the evidence and the similarities in each case .

They worked as women reporters for The Record American Newspaper later The Boston Globe who were assigned to cover "women's stories " fashion and social events while their male colleagues got the real tough news stories of the day.

Loretta is first to request that she be assigned to cover the murders after she discovers the link but is road blocked by her boss until she is taken seriously.

Later her more experienced colleague Jean is assigned to cover the story with her which at first Loretta resents .

This movie is not a crime thriller that part of the story has been told before .

Of course it covers the background of these horrific crimes but the emphasis is on the two women reporters and the obstacles that the Police and their own bosses put up to hinder their investigation.

The Police investigation was shoddy to say the least and the magazine bosses didn't think the women were capable enough to report such a great story.

Keira Knightley is impressive as the determined Loretta who is trying to balance her home life with her career and Carrie Coon is equally impressive as the more worldly Jean who Loretta at first resents as this is her story.

Boston Strangler is not a great film but it's an interesting well acted and well produced.

I found the mood a bit somber and thought it needed a bit of a jolt here and there .

I found the sepia dark tones a little depressing but as the end credits rolled around the importance of this story became obvious these women were pioneering as far as journalism was concerned.

Matt Ruskin wrote the screenplay and directed the film .

I just wondered if a different director may have elevated Boston Strangler to greater heights.

It lacked the impact for me of the recent Maria Schrader movie She Said also about 2 courageous women journalists however it's well worth a look at.

I am a true crime junkie and was looking forward to this, especially with Keira Knightley & the local acting legend, Chris Cooper, who is from my neck of the woods in Greater Boston. But I found myself bored and almost falling asleep at times. It's an interesting untold part of the story, until now - but I expected more, being produced by Ridley Scott. It just lacks a lot of feeling and seems to drag. I don't know if I was just expecting too much, because it is a watchable film with quality acting, wardrobe and locations. I rarely find myself waiting for the end of film that is not super long, but this managed to disappoint in that way. I can't completely bash it though, it was okay. Just okay. 6/10.

I had seen the Tony Curtis movie, and had also learned that DeSalvo may not have been responsible for all the killings, but that was all I really knew about the case, so this movie filled in a lot of the gaps, and while it featured a lot of interesting information, I did wonder why the epilogue did not include anything about the person of interest named Dempsey, who I then had to search online to find out that he was a fictionalized character based on a man named Charles Terry, who was suspected of being the original Boston Strangler.

I did expect more of a sense of urgency; the film just seemed to ramble along on one flat note, whereas films like this tend to, via very typical means of direction, acting, soundtrack, camera angles, etc., produce more tension and suspense, even if only on the part of the characters in the story. There was just no excitement here or any feeling of accomplishment, either from Carrie or Keira, and I have to note that Keira was strangely stiff. Her face never seemed to change expression, and while I didn't mind her accent at all, not expecting the characters to all have the typical Bah-ston accent, I was more put off by her total lack of affect, and I really hope it was simply due to some medical procedure like Botox and not that she is just losing her touch. In fact, it was strange to see more animation in the still photos shown in the epilogue of the actual woman she played..

So while the film has an interesting and informative storlyline, it just feels totally flat and uninvolving, and you will really have to make an effort to stay focused..