Girl in the Picture: Crime en abîme

The documentary starts off as a typical hit-and-run case, eventually branching out into a spiral of unending twists and hidden mysteries. While it spends the entirety of the first act on the perpetrator and his doings, director Skye Borgman ensures that the piece lends ample time on unraveling the mystery around the titular girl's identity. That's when the documentary comes into its own, never letting us forget that it's not the inhumanity meted out to the victim that she needs to be remembered for, but for who she was, as a person (friend, peer, mother). Skye wants to tell us that even under the most difficult circumstances, the victim was always trying to be her best version. The final stretch is incredibly moving, especially when we get to know of more people related to her, and what she meant (or still means) to each of them.

I never know how to rate hhese types of programs. Give it an10 and its almost like you enjoyed the sadness of what happened. A solid 7 is to show my respect to the victims. God bless.

One of those stories that shocks you with every twist, its wild and almost unbelievable. A well put together documentary with relevant interviews and a smooth rhythm to the storytelling. Sad, poignant, and just incredible (in a really disheartening way).

Who was Michael's father? DNA testing ruled out Warren Hughes. Who was Megan's father? It seems odd if Sharon was never allowed much freedom that she could have had 2 pregnancies by other men.

Netflix crime documentaries are usually too long, and spread needlessly over multiple episodes. This feature-length doc is too short, and could have done with an extra couple of hours too tell more about the real parents, Michael's possible father, and the little brother "Philip" who was abducted with the three sisters at the beginning, and who (according to Wikipedia) showed up in 2019.

A very good documentary, nonetheless, and one that I will remember for a long time.