The Boston Strangler: Movie Review 

Cast: Keira Knightley, Carrie Coon, Chris Cooper
Director: Matt Ruskin

As the true crime genre continues to grip fans worldwide, the latest cinematic salvo to fire up is confined to a streaming release rather than a wider cinematic opening.

In some ways, that should tell you what you need to know about this lacksadaisical film that starts off strongly and with a sense of mystery and dread, but soon squanders it for nothing more than a formulaic mesh of serial killer movie and She Said style investigating.

The film follows Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley), a reporter for the Record-American newspaper, who becomes the first journalist to connect the Boston Strangler murders, but who's dismissed by her newspaper bosses for being above her life style writing station and written off by the authorities as a crank.

Finding a kindred spirit in colleague and confidante Jean Cole (Carrie Coon), the duo finds themselves stymied by the rampant sexism of the era. Nevertheless, McLaughlin and Cole bravely pursue the story at great personal risk, putting their own lives on the line in their quest to uncover the truth.

It's not that The Boston Strangler is a bad film - in fact, it's hard to think of a better duo here to embody the vibe Ruskin's going for throughout. 

The problem is the narrative which seems to shy away from the film's darker edges in favour of a more domesticated look at the serial killer story, robbing it of any fear or suspense throughout. In many ways, it feels formulaic and somewhat muted by its intentions and while Knightley and Coon are impressive enough, the script ultimately lets them down.

Pitting them against rampant sexism but seeing them initially get support at home is gratifying, but the film seems muddied in its aspirations.

It may be this story has been told many times before and that this time out, it tries to do something different, complete with a grey and drab decor throughout, but The Boston Strangler doesn't quite inspire as perhaps it should.