L'Étrangleur de Boston

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.