There are a few good movies made around journalistic endeavours in the history of cinema, and here is one more good effort I must admit that showcases how journalists work behind the scenes to bring their readers a breaking story.
Boston Strangler, the latest from Director Matt Ruskin, available on Disney+ Hotstar, OTT platform is an investigative journalism piece that shouldn’t be missed. Set in the 1960s, the film is based on a real-life story when Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley) originally from the lifestyle desk at the Boston Record American, took a special interest in tracking 3 murders breaking a crime story that turned into one of the most sensational stories in the coming years.
All these murders of elderly women initially and later targeting younger women had a specific pattern linking them to a serial killer, who in the coming months killed 10 more women in Boston, shook the entire city. While the Police Commissioner (Bill Camp) initially tried to brush off this as not so important and termed them possible suicides, consistent follow-up stories from the Record American, by Loretta and Jean Cole (Carrie Coon) ensure that he admits that all cases are still open after 13 murders.
Letters from readers and mails of concern from elderly women in hundreds were flooding the office of the Record American every day. The film revolves around Loretta McLaughlin and Jean Cole uncovering new details, getting off-the-record inputs, and even meeting the suspects to unravel the truth behind these murders. While the editor Jack (Chris Cooper), was initially uncertain about allowing Loretta McLaughlin to cover a crime story, as the paper had a 6-person strong crime story, he allows her to pursue it later for her deep insights into the story.
Eventually, the Record American seems to understand the crime and murders better than the Boston cops. Loretta ventures into places women aren’t expected to go and gets her facts right before filing her stories. As the film progresses, the identities of possible suspects change, and everything becomes a bit complicated as far as the leads around the culprits are concerned. A doctored confession from one suspect, who is later murdered in jail, and other possible convicts, were never traced.
What the film surely highlights is the fact that crime journalists tracking the story are far more informed than the cops trying to solve this murder mystery.
The author is the Festival Director of KidzCINEMA and CultureCinema, who also writes on entertainment, spirituality, and culture. Twitter: @praveennagda