TRUE CRIME. “Murdered for Being Different.” / “Lost Girls.”

“Murdered for Being Different” (2017, Britbox) British crime drama, based on the 2007 murder of Sophie Lancaster in the United Kingdom. Two people from the goth subculture were assaulted by drunken youths in a skateboard park. The movie features the subsequent police investigation. The attack itself is shown in detail. 



       Director Paul Andrew Williams balanced the brutal violence with flashbacks of the couple's loving relationship. Shows that “hate crimes” are not just confined to offenses related to race and gender. “Being different” also invites misguided responses from “petty” heckling and juvenile bullying to gruesome violence and fatal attacks. 

       The movie, which won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Single Drama in 2018, tells it as it is. No moralizing, no sermonizing--yet it stabs deeply. 🎥👍📽


“Lost Girls” (2020, Netflix) mystery drama, based on the non-fiction book “Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery” by Robert Kolker. The film revolves around the murders of young female sex workers, whose bodies are found on the South Shore barrier islands of Long Island. These deaths are believed to have been committed by a suspect referred to as the Long Island serial killer. A male suspect was charged for several deaths on July 14, 2023.



       The story is told through the point of view of Mari Gilbert as she relentlessly launched a crusade to her missing daughter, Shannan. Played by Amy Ryan with burning passion and unflinching defiance but her efforts got lost in a lumbering, cliche-laden circle. At least, we hoped for a more positive resolution but nope. Hard to watch a “true crime” feature that stays unsolved, with the real-life characters simply on dead-end mumblings. 🎥💻📽


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