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The first time I watched Audrie & Daisy, I was in my office. When I started the documentary, I was a normal viewer. However, after an hour and a half of the film, I was gesturing wildly and whisper screaming, barely able to control my rage at what I had just witnessed. Audrie & Daisy takes a raw look at how technology can amplify the already-horrible ramifications of sexual assault and victim blaming, and it doesn’t hold back.
Directed by Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk, the documentary focuses on two cases of sexual assault that ended in two very different ways: the cases of Audrie Pott and Daisy Coleman. Both young women were teenagers when they were assaulted; Pott was 15, and Coleman was 14. Both lived relatively normal lives prior to their assaults. Both were slut shamed and victim blamed by their communities for doing things all teenagers do. Both were forced to relive their assaults again online, where both faced the amplified and sinister beast that is cyberbullying. However, only one of these young women is alive today. Audrie Pott committed suicide in September of 2012, shortly after the online abuse started.
It’s through the story of these two women that Audrie & Daisy attempts to educate viewers about the horrors of online abuse — a form of harassment and hatred that still feels new four years after Pott’s tragic suicide. There are other topics also interwoven in this dark documentary, including the prevalence of sexual assault, the lack of education about consent, and the injustice of victim blaming. These are dense stories that explore even denser topics, but Audrie & Daisy walks these lines confidently, giving these topics the weight they deserve while never feeling too heavy handed. A big reason for this is the documentary’s format and its subjects.
Instead of focusing on the typical three subjects for a documentary, Audrie & Daisy narrows its focus to the two aforementioned cases. Through cloaked interviews of Pott’s assailants, interviews with her family and friends, and Facebook and texts messages from Pott herself, the documentary delicately pieces together the story Pott is no longer able to tell. It’s a shocking and depressing narrative you already know the ending to, so when Coleman’s story is introduced, you already know what’s going to happen. You’re just praying things will turn out differently. Thankfully, they do, but it’s actually Coleman’s story that induces more outrage.
Coleman and her best friend at the time Paige Parkhurst were assaulted in Maryville, Missouri when the friends attended a small party. However, it’s not the crimes of that night that are truly horrific but the town’s response. From multiple interviews with law enforcement officers who shrug off the incident, going as far as to blame girls as much as guys for sexual assault, to the legal proceeding that would be hilariously horrible if it weren’t so depressing, the third act of Audrie & Daisy is cringe-worthy enough to make you see red. It quickly becomes clear why reporter Michael Schaffer once referred to Maryville as a “lawless hellhole” in his coverage of the case as well as why Anonymous became involved in the case. The documentary makes it clear that Coleman was grossly wronged, not just by her assailants, but by the legal system and the city of Maryville itself. It’s horrendous and heart-breaking and inhumane and a thousand other descriptors that make you want to scream. And yet through all of this, Audrie & Daisy ends on a note of hope.
The finale of the documentary focuses on Coleman and other brave women’s efforts to create a safe space for speaking out about sexual abuse and online abuse. Since her case first came to national attention, Coleman has been outspoken in her fight for justice. Coleman an instantly sympathetic subject you want to win. You want to see her rise above this and emerge as close to OK as humanly possible, and though the right to return to a normal life as a teenager was robbed from Coleman years ago, the place that Audrie & Daisy leaves her is inspiring.
The documentary Audrie & Daisy premieres on Netflix September 23 at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT.
