Boston Strangler (2023)

Reporters Loretta McLaughlin and Jean Cole bravely pursue the story of the Boston Strangler at great personal risk, putting their own lives on the line in their quest to uncover the truth.

3.0 / 5

INCLUVIE SCORE

4.0 / 5

MOVIE SCORE

Representation

Josh Halpern

March 30, 2023

3 / 5

INCLUVIE SCORE

4 / 5

MOVIE SCORE

A Killer's Hold on a City in 'Boston Strangler'

“You can’t be apologetic. Not about the things that are important to you,” Jean tells Loretta about halfway into Boston Strangler, a film recently released on Hulu about the famed series of killings that occurred in Boston in the early 1960s. Based on actual events, Loretta and Jean were two reporters who investigated and covered this brutal series of murders for the "Record American." At the time, women journalists were relegated to fluff pieces and lifestyle features, covering fashion and reviewing household products like microwaves and toasters. Absurdly, men were granted the bulk of serious reporting while women were not given any assignments of great weight, and then socially punished for covering "vapid" topics. Keira Knightley plays Loretta McLaughlin, a young journalist tired of being relegated to fad diets and profiles of wives of political candidates. She asks her editor, Jack (played by Chris Cooper), if she can tackle homicide. More specifically, the murder of three older women. She even offers to do it in her free time while still covering ‘lifestyle.’ We’re in a very dark world. Lots of grays, little coloring. Daylight that seems zapped of warmth and vitality. Think Seven or Zodiac. It’s very Fincher-esque. There are also many scenes of characters in dark corridors or silhouetted in door frames. Invoking secrecy and leaving many quite literally in the dark, searching for answers. What is it about certain moody period pieces that often portray characters as sad and very pissed off, smoking cigarettes, lamenting the poor state of the world and its societal boundaries? As if this setting has to be a mean and unforgiving hell of sorts in order to spawn such mad, emotionally disturbed felons and sickos. It's thinly veiled commentary. These movies often stress that things used to be a lot worse and you should be glad to be living in a time where people are ostensibly less miserable, and also less racist and homophobic. These depictions are effective and very compelling, but they are also a bit of a cliche.

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Movie Information

Reporters Loretta McLaughlin and Jean Cole bravely pursue the story of the Boston Strangler at great personal risk, putting their own lives on the line in their quest to uncover the truth.

Rating:R

Genre:Crime, Mystery, Thriller

Directed By:Matt Ruskin

Written By:Matt Ruskin

In Theaters:3/17/2023

Box Office:

Runtime:113 minutes

Studio:20th Century Studios, LuckyChap Entertainment, Langley Park Productions, Scott Free Productions