Boston Strangler Truth Is Even More Disturbing Than Fiction - The Daily Beast

On March 17, Hulu premiered the latest addition to the oeuvre with Boston Strangler, starring Keira Knightley and Carrie Coon as two pioneering reporters who break the story and pound the pavement until the truth comes out and a measure of justice is served.

The Hulu film, written and directed by Matt Ruskin ( Crown Heights), portrays McLaughlin as a lonely truth-seeker pitted against a wall of obstacles, primarily men who are more interested in power and profit than learning the truth or obtaining justice.

And the police and state officials, shielded from scrutiny by male newspaper editors, declare victory to a city desperate to move on, basking in the glory of having rescued Boston’s women from a reign of terror.

The film’s message is clear: As McLaughlin says, “No one bothered to get to the truth, and people got away with murder.” Men, in particular, sought political, personal, and financial gain ahead of concern for the views or safety of women.

The standard sociological interpretation of the appeal of conspiracy thinking is it gives people clean, easy answers and a sense of control and moral righteousness in a world that’s actually layered, complex, and indeterminate.

The film vests her with views she didn’t hold, in service to a storyline that feeds a need to believe in good women (who bother to get at the truth), and bad men (who only care about power and profit).