Netflixs Unbelievable is set to be your new true crime obsession
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This article references sexual assault and rape, which some Metro.co.uk readers may find distressing.
From Ava Duvernays harrowing drama When They See Us about the Central Park Five, to Making a Murderer and Mindhunter, Netflix has become known for bringing powerful true crime stories to our screens and seeking to raise awareness of the previously voiceless.
The latest in this genre, Unbelievable, turns away from murder and focuses instead on sexual assault, using one real life story to show the ways in which rape victims are dehumanised beyond their assaults and into the way they are treated by the police.
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Based on Pulitzer Prize winning ProPublica report An Unbelievable Story of Rape, Unbelievable tells the story of Marie, a troubled 18-year-old girl who has gone through the foster care system, moving from home to home all her life.
Played by Kaitlyn Dever, the breakout star of teen comedy Booksmart, Marie reports an intruder breaking into her home at night and blindfolding her at knife point before violently raping her.
But when her foster parents, ex-boyfriend and the male police officers all express distrust in Maries story – why did the attacker leave no marks? How did he tie her up with shoelaces alone? Why were there no signs of forced entry? – the teen begins to doubt herself, later denying that the assault ever happened after convincing herself it was a dream.
The officers pressure Marie into withdrawing her claim, which costs her $500 (£405), while local news reports decry her for wasting police time and lying about something so sick.
Nearly two years later, two female police detectives (played by Toni Collette and Merritt Wever) begin investigating another series of seemingly unrelated attacks.
All the women targeted lived alone, with the rapists making their victims shower, brush their teeth and taking the bed sheets with them after the attack so as to remove all traces of DNA.
What these detectives saw wasnt, as it had been with Marie two years prior, a woman lying, but a practiced and careful rapist who knew how to get away with his attacks.
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You see the pattern, one of the officers says. Theres a rape, new evidence, new leads and then, one by one, they dry upRead More – Source