“Boston Strangler” Review
Carrie Coon (Left) and Kiera Knightley star in “Boston Strangler” as investigative journalists Jean Cole and Loretta McLaughlin who are trying to track down the titular serial killer.
One of my favorite films of all time is David Fincher’s “Zodiac.” By combining my interests in journalism and true crime, “Zodiac” was a captivating film that keeps you immersed in the fear surrounding this elusive killer. Recently released on Hulu, “Boston Strangler” feels like diet “Zodiac.” While the characters investigating this famous killer are interesting, the rest of the film’s suspense just doesn’t have the same punch as other true crime films/series.
Set in the 1960s, the film follows Loretta McLaughlin and Jean Cole (Kiera Knightley and Carrie Coon), two reporters from the Boston Record American (now known as the Boston Herald) who begin following a series of women who were murdered in the same way. With an apparent serial killer on the loose, McLaughlin and Cole’s investigation begins to poke holes into how law enforcement is looking at this case and even begins to doubt the narrative that arises when a suspect is caught.
As determined journalists, Knightley and Coon are masterful in this film. Not only are they excellent at their jobs, but they have so much more to prove in the male-dominated workplace. At the start of the film, Loretta McLaughlin is a lifestyle writer reviewing toasters for housewives. She wants to show that she’s a strong writer and, even after she and Jean Cole are assigned to the story, she still faces doubts from her fellow writers and editors.
The film’s journalistic pursuit is what makes “Boston Strangler” a good watch with both of these women being responsible for showing how the Boston Police Department was flubbing the investigation. Seeing them take on the sexism of their paper and law enforcement was captivating and seeing them surpassing it was all the more inspiring.
I was especially impressed with how writer/director Matt Ruskin handles the violence. While he doesn’t show all of the killings, the ones that he does depict are handled with a well-reserved tact. The murders of women are often obscured, out of focus or off camera but you hear the sound crystal clear. It’s the right amount of disturbing without coming across as a snuff film.
However, the film doesn’t have the memorable quality to it on par with other journalism films like “All The President’s Men,” “She Said” and “Zodiac.” It’s fine but, once a suspect is caught, the film needlessly meanders for 20 minutes before McLaughlin begins to believe that maybe there’s more to the case. But by then the film began to lose me. Had “Boston Strangler“ had tighter pacing, it could have been a truly great true crime film for those that love to binge podcasts about murderers and good, old-fashioned dismemberment.
“Boston Strangler” may not be the most efficient crime film but it’s hard not to recommend it given the strong performances and how well it captures investigative journalism. For those that love true crime, it’s going to be hard to resist this when scouring the library of Hulu.
