‘Boston Strangler’ Review- Never Mind The Victims
This film streamed in 2023.
Boston Strangler is a serial killer film based on the crimes of Albert DeSalvo. It is directed and written by Matt Ruskin. The movie was made by 20th Century Studios and released on Hulu.
Reporter Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley) suspects the murders in 1963 Boston are connected. After convincing her boss Jack MacLaine (Chris Cooper) that it is a story, he assigns journalist Jean Cole (Carrie Coon) to help her find the Boston Strangler. The investigation causes a strain on her marriage to her husband James McLaughlin (Morgan Spector) and puts her in the sights of Boston Police Commissioner Edmund McNamara (Bill Camp). As she gets closer to the truth, she gets strange phone calls and mysterious letters that seem threatening.
I cannot complain about the performances. Everyone did a superb job in their respective roles. While I cannot say it is a “breakout” performance for Knightley, she definitely does a good job of taking control of her role and does a good job leading the plot.
It is also very suspenseful. The movie does a good job of building the tension and making you second-guess what is going on. I thought the thrills were enough to live up to the genre and had me guessing, despite knowing the history.
The issue with the film is that instead of making it about the victims, we get to hear about how mean some people were to the reporters. That is correct. Instead of raising awareness about how the Boston Strangler targeted victims, the focus is definitely on how some people were sometimes rude to Loretta and Jean. Riveting.
This is puzzling and confusing. Why the director wanted to turn the movie into this feminist pamphlet instead of a shocking look at the crimes is beyond me. It truly made the film feel disingenuous and pandering. Though that seems to be the default setting in Hollywood these days.
To make matters worse, the movie plays fast and loose with the true crime aspects of it. For instance, the Michigan copycat did not begin his spree until two years after DeSalvo was arrested, and DeSalvo was not killed until eight years after he was convicted. Yet, the filmmakers wanted to weave a conspiracy so that Loretta could be shown to be the “brave” woman she was by fiddling with the timeline.
Honestly, the push of the conspiracy theories about the Boston strangler is what really ruined the movie for me. DeSalvo was the Boston Strangler, but doubts have persisted because he could not remember some things about certain crime scenes, and DNA evidence only linked him to one, so the movie claims the murders are “unsolved.”
Please, not all serial killers are super geniuses. They can be clever, but Hannibal Lecter is a work of fiction. DeSalvo got away with it because of police negligence and the media, quite frankly. Also, DeSalvo’s cellmate George Nassar, performed by Greg Vrotsos, is not alive as the movie suggests. He died in prison in 2018, well before the movie was filmed. A simple turn on a search engine could have confirmed this.
Bottom line, Boston Strangler says “never mind” to the victims and instead focuses on how some people were rude to the reporters and on conspiracy theories. It takes you out of the film and into a facade created by the filmmakers.
PARENTAL CONCERNS: Disturbing images, Inappropriate conversation, Foul language, Violence
FAVORITE QUOTE: See, you all created a myth, and it needed to be stopped. People wanted to believe it was Al, but they needed to believe it was Albert. The alternative was just too disturbing.
Check out the trailer:
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. Tell me if there is a comic book, movie, or anime you would like me to review.