BOSTON STRANGLER

This film about a real-life serial killer (from the 1960s) suffers from a huge handicap in that it is bound to suffer in comparison with the masterpiece that is 'Zodiac'.

On the other hand I figured it should have a couple of things going for it.

Firstly, whereas the Zodiac killer was never caught, the Boston Strangler was , so at least there should be a satisfying conclusion to the police investigation (spoiler alert, as per usual I was completely wrong in thinking this)

Secondly, the hunt for the Strangler is shown here from the viewpoint of a woman journalist, so we get the added dimension of the misogyny she suffers is trying to pursue the story, because (shock horror) women weren't meant to do that sort of thing then.  

The journalist in question is Loretta MacLaughlin, played by Keira Knightley.  For some reason I always struggle to lose myself in any of her performances, which is certainly the case here because throughout the question was nagging away at me as to why a British actress had been cast in this role. 

This was one of the thoughts occupying me in the first half of the film, as we make our way through Trope City.

Female worker isn't taken seriously? Check. 

Husband is getting fed up with her never being home? Check.  

Male authority figures are either stupid or incompetent? Check.

The writer and director, Matt Ruskin, doesn't manage to find a way to make these familiar story beats fresh.

It was good to see a very grizzled Chris Cooper as Loretta's editor, and Carrie Coon as Jean Cole, another reporter brought on to the case, although neither character has much depth to them.  

The film picks up in the second half, when the mystery as to the identity of the Strangler comes centre stage.   Contrary to my prior expectation, there remains to this day uncertainty as to who killed the thirteen victims in Boston, as well as similar victims in other places such as New York.

If the film is accurate it seems likely that there was more than one killer.

The best scene in the film is one near to the end where a prison inmate tells Loretta why the public wanted to believe that there was only the one killer, the guy who has confessed to all the murders.  They don't want to face the truth, which is that men are always killing women - this was true before the Strangler came on the scene, and for sure it will still be true when he is a distant memory. 

It's the punchline that this solidly made film has been building up to, and it's a powerful one.