Boston Strangler

First of all, I should say that this type of suspense and unsolved crime stories are always enjoyable, but this is not a good film, just an average and not boring one.

The acting is not bad, but the actors didn't shine due to the issues that I will complain about shortly.

Some aspects of the film fall far short of the 2023 standards. I think the most average thing about the movie was its rush. While watching the film, I felt like the person filming had a rush, as events were happening one after another, but it didn't give the viewer enough time to digest them. Therefore, I felt like I didn't care about the family issues emotionally, which was a big flaw. Such a deep subject did not need to be presented in such a rushed manner.

Although the events are interesting, trying to be a copy of Zodiac was also a bad detail. Instead of working on a more different and satisfying screenplay, the movie tackled the same story but at an accelerated pace.

When telling a true story, I think deeper dialogues should be used, but in the film, the dialogues flowed at Formula 1 speed, which was also unpleasant.

It was a very average film, but this does not mean that it is not entertaining. The film ended suddenly, and I can't say that I was ever bored. It felt average due to its straightforward storytelling and lack of depth. It can be watched as a good evening film in free time, but it's not much more than that.

I love Keira Knightley as an actress in many other movies, but somehow she didnt shine in this role as a female journalist unravelling a serial murder mystery.

The bad: this movie is simply going through the motions. No surprises. No spark or punch. No real thrill. No originality. Everything about this serial killer movie has been done better by others before...

More bad: it has got an annoyingly heavy soundtrack, that must constantly remember me as a viewer, that now THIS scene and now THAT scene is suppose to be ominous and spooky. When it's no such thing. Bummer!

Not any good then? Honestly, I have been critisizing this movie but it's certainly not a terrible movie, merely a rather BLAND and BORING one.

Similar to many other reviewers on Imdb, I also had many flashbacks of the brilliant movie called "The Zodiac" (2007) with Robert Downey Jr. And Jake Gylenhaal. Go watch THAT movie instead of this failed COPYCAT flick! "The Zodiac" (2007) is HIGHLY recommended by me and by many other true fans of this genre!

This isn't so much a story about the notorious murderer, but more one of two investigative journalists who meticulously followed the case and tried to establish the truth behind these gruesome crimes. Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley) was largely responsible for taking the initiative to her editor (Chris Cooper) but that published, convincing, analysis drew considerable disdain from the police and she was swiftly booted off the story. Undeterred, she persisted and ultimately with the more experienced Jean Cole (Carrie Coon) is reinstated and allowed to develop her theory that - well, maybe there isn't just one strangler! To be fair, I am not particularly well versed in the history of this, but I did find this a very dry and procedural drama that reminded me a little of "Official Secrets" (2019). Again, this saw Knightley in a smilier sort of role, and again delivering it very much as if it were straight off the page. There is little evidence of passion here. The tenacity and perseverance of these two women - at times putting the safety of themselves and their families on the line - isn't really captured here. It's wordy, at times a little too earnest and though it looks good it's just all a bit sterile. This is a fascinating story that looks at serial killings, copycat killings and strong investigative journalism all in the face of a rather linear (and sexist) approach taken by the authorities. It ought to be scintillating and intriguing - but this is certainly not.

Boston Strangler, based on real killings in the early '60s, comes off as a film that's trying hard to remain rivetingly mysterious as opposed to a Zodiac or a Se7en. It has a first act that instantly hooks your investigative interests, and as the cases begin to pile up, there are many leads the film puts forward. Cinematographer Ben Kutchins attributes as a dark, softened glow to the frames, not too distant from the visual style of a David Fincher thriller. But the plot developments in the subsequent acts don't mesh well. You're given many names and faces, and you're expected to look at each one with a specific level of suspicion. Towards the end, I lost interest, just like one of those cops (played by Alessandro Nivola) who worked on one of the cases. It doesn't take much on Keira Knightley's part to slip into the role of Loretta, and I also liked how Matt Ruskin's writing discussed the casual sexism of that era. But that's all there is!

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..