one year ago

@michellecgb I do understand where you are coming from with your comment, and I don't disagree on the face of it. Please don't take this as a personal attack, but I do have two strong points to add to this.<br /> <br /> First - I believe this began as a documentary about Peter by Emma. It wasn't intended to be a true crime documentary... until it suddenly became one. All of the footage up to and around the time of the disappearance exists because of its focus on Peter. After it was clear there was definitely a murder, I do agree that there was an inadequate amount of time devoted to the story of how Kim's life ended up in that place at that time. However, this movie wasn't about her, it was a personal story of a filmmaker embedded with the loved ones of a psychopathic murderer. <br /> <br /> Second - I don't think any of us have much of a right to talk about the ethics of the true crime genre as a whole. When it comes to true crime you can, at best, learn a thing or two and observe humanity at its most extreme. At worst, they're middle-class snuff films. The idea of paying lip service to the victim is a bit rich when the only reason any of us even know Kim Wall's name is because of the entertainment we receive as a result of her horrific murder. It's never about the victim. This movie leaves Kim and her family out. It doesn't show her other than a couple of photos to humanise her. It doesn't graphically recount her death, other than what is necessary to understand what is going through Peter's friend's minds. The police and the 'cat and mouse game' of finding and proving a murder is basically not included. The information source for everyone is reading the news like everyone else. The legal proceeding is discussed in terms of how helpless everyone feels, and how difficult it can be on the secondary victims (such as friends called as a witness). <br /> <br /> I think this may be one of the more ethical studies of a murderer there is. I do agree that I felt Kim was overlooked, but in the end we're all a bit too disgusting in our own way to be making requests.