Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Reporters Loretta McLaughlin and Jean Cole bravely pursue the story of the Boston Strangler at great personal risk, putting their own lives on the line in their quest to uncover the truth.
Boston Strangler (2023) is a competent but uneven true-crime procedural that focuses on the journalistic angle rather than the killer himself. The plot is serviceable and benefits from its feminist-lens reframing of the story, but it struggles with pacing and fails to build sustained tension. Keira Knightley and Carrie Coon deliver solid performances that elevate the material, though the supporting cast is thinner. Cinematography is workmanlike—period-appropriate muted palette and decent production design, but nothing cinematically adventurous. Novelty is limited; the female-journalist angle adds modest freshness, but the broader true-crime procedural framework is well-worn territory and the execution doesn't distinguish it memorably from similar prestige streaming fare. The ending is unsatisfying, reflecting the real-world ambiguity of the case but landing flat dramatically rather than feeling purposefully open-ended.