Boston Strangler review.
Hulu’s Boston Strangler boasts a fine cast. Unfortunately, it opts for a slow, patient investigation piece that never rises above fine. It’s consistently not bad…if that sounds more appealing to you.
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Boston Strangler
Directed by Matt Ruskin
Written by Matt Ruskin
Starring Keira Knightley, Carrie Coon, Alessandro Nivola, Chris Cooper and David Dastmalchian
Boston Strangler Review
Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley) is desperate for her chance to report on meaningful news. When she uncovers a connection to a series of murders…she fights to cover it. As the murders continue to baffle police, she works with fellow reporter Jean Cole (Carrie Coon) to investigate the serial killer she has dubbed The Boston Strangler.
At times it feels like Boston Strangler wants to be a different movie. It sticks its focus so firmly to the perspective of its lead character that many of its narrative choices don’t make sense. Early in the story we get some discussion of the struggle of being a female reporter in the 60s…and the difficulty of balancing work and family. These concepts make sense when the story is so fiercely glued to one character’s hip. But Boston Strangler drops much of this to the far background to become a much less interesting investigation story with a from a singular, narrow point of view.
It’s an odd choice. Most of the movie feels like a character piece…but the story strips the character of further development. We aren’t watching a journey. We’re watching a list of things that happened. Worse, a list of things without nuance…presented from one perspective.
None of this is the fault of the cast. Kiera Knightley does everything she can to bring real world journalist Loretta McLaughlin to life. The script lets her down. It comes off like a CliffsNotes version of the Boston Strangler investigation. So much so that when the screen fades to black and we are presented with text detailing what happened to the people involved in the story…they feel no less developed than what we just watched.
It’s a good-looking film, to be sure. But a good-looking film that’s boring is still boring. Boston Strangler is a classic case of the whole not adding up to the sum of its parts. Choosing to present the story in the least dynamic way it can while scrapping an internal character driven story that could have made up for it. A book report in place of a moving picture.
What’s frustrating about all of this is that Boston Strangler has a lot of things going for it. A strong cast does fine work in some beautiful looking frames. It can’t elevate the poor design beyond watchable. A problem made demonstrably worse if you have any familiarity with the Albert DeSalvo case. If you are a true crime fan…you’ve seen this story (and countless like it) told in a more interesting fashion many times.
Which begs the question…who is this for? True crime fans will be bored by it. Suspense fans won’t find any here. Those familiar with the case won’t find anything new here. The character it attaches to is largely relegated to conduit for information by the second act. A drama without drama. A mystery without mystery.
Investigation movies have merit when they’re either leading you somewhere you don’t know or showing you something you know in an interesting way. Boston Strangler simply…tells you stuff. It does so from the singular perspective of a character that it goes out of its way to reduce interest in. Squandering talent in front of, and behind the camera as it goes. Confidently made with a commitment to nothing.
The true crime of Boston Strangler is that there is a great movie out there. This one doesn’t find it. It takes a fascinating case and finds nothing compelling about it.
Scare Value
Nothing about Boston Strangler pops off the screen. Despite uniformly good performances, it never gets out of first gear. By providing a very limited perspective on the crimes and investigation the movie can’t gain any traction. It lacks excitement or suspense. A well-acted but by the numbers investigative piece.
2/5
Boston Strangler Link
Streaming on Hulu
Boston Strangler Trailer
If you enjoyed this review of Boston Strangler, check out other new releases: The Strays, Deinfluencer and Project Wolf Hunting
