Netflix's "Unbelievable" is unbelievably gritty, brutally true and gripping
"Unbelievable" on Netflix is unbelievably good. Viewers have mentioned having a difficult time getting through the first episode of this eight episode series, and with good reason. It begins with the story of "Marie," a young woman transitioning out of foster care. The episode doesn't focus so much on the brutality of her rape, but on the brutal way she is treated by law enforcement and even by the people who are supposed to be her family and friends. You see, "Marie" does everything right. She reports being raped to the police, is continually asked to retell her story. But because Marie didn't act like the cops, her friends thought a rape victim should, they begin to doubt her story and she is bulled into retracting it. After that, her life begins to unravel.
In Episode two we're introduced to "Karen Duvall" (Merritt Wever) as she is called to a crime scene in which a rape has occurred. There's a physical feeling of relief as we discover she's going to treat this victim much differently than Marie was treated, even gently telling the woman that she might not remember everything and it's okay. Duvall learns another rape with similar circumstances happened in a neighboring jurisdiction and she quickly teams with Toni Collette's "Grace Rasmussen" to begin the hunt for the rapist. The series helmed by Oscar nominees Susannah Grant and Lisa Cholodenko focuses on the hunt for the rapist. Some of the salacious details are included, but the rapist is not glamorized in this series. No one tries to get inside his head or find out what makes him tick. Instead, the series focuses on the women he hurt and the women are are going to put him behind bars.
Unbelievable is based on the true story told in the Pulitzer Prize-winning article " An Unbelievable Story of Rape" by T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrone and the "The American Life radio episode "Anatomy of Doubt."
Inspired by the real events in The Marshall Project and ProPublica Pulitzer Prize-winning article, "An Unbelievable Story of Rape," written by T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong, and the This American Life radio episode, “Anatomy of Doubt." No Doubt here. This is powerful story-telling at its finest, even as it focuses on some of the worst acts of brutality in our society.
Unbelievable is based on the true story told in the Pulitzer Prize-winning article " An Unbelievable Story of Rape" by T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrone and the "The American Life radio episode "Anatomy of Doubt."
Inspired by the real events in The Marshall Project and ProPublica Pulitzer Prize-winning article, "An Unbelievable Story of Rape," written by T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong, and the This American Life radio episode, “Anatomy of Doubt." No Doubt here. This is powerful story-telling at its finest, even as it focuses on some of the worst acts of brutality in our society.