First I want to make a suggestion: Those who want to enjoy this mini documentary series, if they don't know anything about the killer and the author of the book, don't look for anything on the Internet. Also, don't keep reading this post. It's a real fact and there's a lot of information about the case. If you don't mind finding out everything that happened, keep reading.
The mini documentary series is based on Michelle McNamara's book, where there are segments of her life. It's logical that the documentary should narrate what happened to the author of the book, but I felt that I was watching two different documentaries.
My main interest was the story of the murderer and rapist, but every time the narrative shifted to Michelle McNamara's familiar themes, I became disconnected from the central focus. Although the segments about Michelle's life are done with a lot of respect and sensitivity, as a tribute to her unfinished work, I think they spend too much time, lengthening the documentary.
McNamara deserved that her life and work in this case be shown, but in the mini-series she spends too much time, making it repetitive, showing again segments that we saw in another episode. The same goes for some testimonies of victims of the rapist, stories we have already heard, bringing them back. It was something that bothered me about the documentary.
Michelle McNamara did an amazing job of research. The woman who dreamed of writing a book, who became famous for having a podcast about real crimes, became obsessed with the case of the rapist killer who was never discovered. She contacted investigators and people who dedicate their lives to finding the perpetrators of unsolved crimes. Writing the book and finding the culprit became a priority; it would be the source of her glory and her downfall.
It was with the publication of the article in the magazine that people began to talk openly about this killer who was never caught. The media paid attention to McNamara's writings. More than fifty rape victims who thought they would never get justice Then, with the news that McNamara was writing a book about the killer, authorities announced that they would reopen investigations to find the Golden State killer.
It's devastating to hear the part of the book that Michelle wrote describing what the end of the killer would look like, it's a piece of writing that sums up the end of both of them. The way she imagined that the killer would be captured came true, while she went into the darkness...
The rapist and murderer never left the area, he lived in one of the communities where he committed his crimes decades ago, got married, had children and grandchildren. To his relatives he was a sweet and good person. In the documentary there are testimonies of some of them, totally surprised to discover all that this sweet old man did, abusing so many women and killing them in a merciless way.
I have always said it and I reflect it in many of my stories, the real monsters live among us, with a mask of good people. It is surprising to see in the documentary, how the crime of rape was not so important for the authorities at the time when this criminal committed his misdeeds. The authorities have a great guilt. The rivalries between the agencies and their jurisdictions, there was no close collaboration, made it easier for the criminal to commit the rapes and murders in several cities. I also help him with the work he did, going unnoticed, I will not tell you what his work was, see for yourself by watching the documentary. Also, in one of the cities, the authorities had a pact with the real estate agents, not to give figures of the violations, to avoid the properties to lose value.
The testimonies of the victims are shown in an elegant manner and with much respect, providing details of what happened, but never exploiting it in a morbid way. It is painful to hear them, especially from the only couple who have remained married after the abuse. Many women who have had to heal their wounds Although justice has been done, the scars will remain in their memories for the rest of their lives.
If you don't mind finding out about the Golden State Killer case and the author of the book, I'll leave a couple of links for you to read: Golden State Killer Link & Michelle McNamara Link
The HBO label is visible in the quality of the production, whose six episodes were directed by Liz Garbus, Myles Kane, Josh Koury, Elizabeth Wolff. But as I said at the beginning of this post, the mini-series is unnecessarily extended, alternating the case with the writer's personal life.
My Ranking: 3/5
Trailer
