L'affaire Jessica Fuller

I am glad I gave this film a chance and watched it til the end as I was pleasantly surprised with how it framed the murder of Meredith Kercher and its media coverage. The film manages to portrait the multi-dimensional aspects of the media, student life in Italy, and the various people affected by this crime. Most important and touching was that Meredith Kercher was given a human face and was not lost in the shadow of Amanda Knox's celebrity/villain representations provided in previous films/documentaries.

Prolific filmmaker Michael Winterbottom takes meta-textual approach of the Amanda Knox murder saga in The Face of an Angel. An American student in Italy has been accused of murdering her English roommate with her Italian boyfriend which has caused a media frenzy. There is a lot of speculation based on circumstantial evidence gathered by incompetent police.

Thomas (Daniel Brühl) a filmmaker on a downward spiral both professionally and in his personal life is sent to Siena, Italy to observe the trial as material for a true life crime thriller. He is aided by a Rome based American journalist Simone (Kate Beckinsale) who provides him with expert background information.

Thomas also meets another international student who also works as a bartender, Melanie (Cara Delevingne) who shows him the sordid side of Siena. They go to parties, score drugs and he has visions fuelled by this messy, fuzzy life as well as his interest in Dante's The Divine Comedy.

Whereas other tabloid journalists are just interested in sex and sleaze as a route to make money rather then finding out the truth of this murder case, Thomas wants to develop a script for a medieval morality play.

The film starts off interestingly enough, Thomas is the stranger in town intending to do the victim justice rather than chase a meal ticket but the film gets less involving as the character of Thomas gets lost in Siena. Winterbottom might be too self righteous here about the media but the film still arouses curiosity.

The Amanda Knox saga, on which this is based, is an incredibly compelling real-life thriller. It has all the elements--xenophobia, exotic location, pretty people, legal saber-rattling, murder most foul, the irrationality of the enraged populace, wrongful conviction and a compelling heroine who wins in the end.

Now, how do you take THAT and make this incredibly dull, meandering film? I often criticize films that are "Hollywood-ed up," but here, they could have used some Hollywood attention to character development and pacing. The script is limp. The characters are laconic. Nothing much happens. The director has done better. The actors have done better. One day, someone will make a truly compelling film on this remarkable tale. This is not it.

This must be the biggest load of tripe I have seen in ages.The so called story of Amanda Knox is embellished and confused introducing unnecessary anomalies and fantasies.

From the cocaine snorting journalist to the disjointed storyline incorporating mythical creatures the story does not stack up at all.

If they were going to tell the story of Meredith Kercher why did they feel it necessary to change people's names.

I cannot see the purpose if this movie and why it was made - totally pointless, boring and uninteresting .

There is simply no redeeming features that can recommend this movie

Do not waste your money in watching this rubbish

Some will say that t is still too soon to be making a film about a murder case that shocked the World and they are arguably right. I did not know this was about that until I started watching it and will judge it as a film in its own rights. Anyway Daniel Bruhl plays a film maker who has had a run of bad luck and wants to make a film about the murder case and he teams up with a journalist played by Kate Beckinsale; she has been following the case from the start in Sienna.

The case is ongoing as the film develops and Bruhl's character gets completely immersed and for those that followed the case there will be moments of déjà vu through out. There are many references to Dante's 'Divine Comedy' too and some rather awkward dream sequences.

Is it any god though? Well I was not disinterested at all but it was still not riveting. Everyone puts in a good performance although some are a bit stereo typed – especially some of the journalists. So it is above average but I could not get away from the fact that for some people this case is still a living hell and that cast a pall over any 'enjoyment' (if that is the right word) that I could get from this production – hence my rating but I would not try to dissuade anyone from seeing this especially if you are fan of either of the leading actors as they both serve their trade well.