‘Boston Strangler’: Matt Ruskin Says He “Didn’t Want To Glorify Violence” In True Crime Film; Opting Instead To Spotlight Heroine Journalists - Deadline

But it wasn’t until a few years ago while researching the complex case that he was inspired to write his latest film, Boston Strangler, from a different point of view.

There was a much bigger story both about the city and the time with a lot of twists and turns that I found to be so compelling that I thought would make for a really great film,” Ruskin told Deadline during a recent interview.

He continued, “And then I heard an interview with this reporter named Loretta McLaughlin who broke the story of the Boston Strangler; she was one of the first journalists to connect the murders.

Ruskin dove into history looking to learn more about McLaughlin and Cole, who would go on to be portrayed in the film by Keira Knightley and Carrie Coon, respectively.

“Jean Cole’s obituary mentioned she had two daughters, and one of them had a Facebook profile with one photo showing her with her arm around an old friend of mine.

As a fan of true crime himself, it was important to Ruskin not to glamorize the Boston Strangler opting instead to focus on two heroines whose stories were mostly lost to history.