But they didn't just "add it," right? Because the idea that Knox and the victim were having a lesbian affair was something that was quite happily "reported" during her trial and given as a possible motive.
If anything, this supports the complaints Knox is making that the film is taking the seedy, demeaning rumors about her and making them the "truth" for the character based on her.
If anything, this supports the complaints Knox is making that the film is taking the seedy, demeaning rumors about her and making them the "truth" for the character based on her.
But ultimately the film is about the dad and his relationship with the French lady he lodges with, which can hardly be a point of criticism. After all, McCarthy described the premise as “What if you were Amanda Knox’s father”, not “What if Amanda Knox was guilty?” And he would know what his film is about, right?
It’s a pretty good, unusual film, nothing like Taken, and it has a real existentialist slant. Back to The Atlantic, which I generally love, this time, a different, review-like article. It closes with, “Would anyone have watched it if they hadn’t mentioned Knox?”
And I say yes, quite a few people would, it’s a perfectly good film and those kinds of question-statements sound bizarrely mean and vindictive, like Knox and co have skin in the film failing or just want it to. It’s looking like she’s going out of her way to criticise it and make it unsuccessful, which, guess what, is just generating more interest. She’s helping market the thing just by complaining.
Also, it’s perfectly natural to “bring a story home” by referencing a similar real-life case when marketing a film, or even another hit production to maximise chances of exposure. The Ben Aaronovitch fantasy book series Rivers of London was marketed as “What if Harry Potter grew up and joined the fuzz?”, and I don’t remember J. K. R. complaining.
This is a bit like the criticism levelled at the second season of Top of the Lake for not telling the individual stories of the female victims of human trafficking. Like if a film uses human trafficking or Knox as a plot point, it’s a priori signing an unspoken pledge to centre itself around their stories. But it’s an authorial choice, no?
A film rooted in how Knox feels frustrated and misrepresented would be so boring, especially as she had no agency in either her imprisonment or her release. It would not make a good story, less so one with an investigative slant.
Edit: apparently, I mean season 2 of Top of the Lake.
Last edited by AgrippinaX; 08-04-21 at 02:16 PM.