Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Boston Strangler’ on Hulu, A Sturdy, If Gloomy True Crime Drama Led By Keira Knightley

Keira Knightley is tenacious journalist Loretta McLaughlin in Boston Strangler (Hulu). When she’s the only reporter in town to link the murders of a series of women, McLaughlin pushes back against the patriarchy at her paper and an unwilling police force to name the Boston Strangler and make the story front page news. Strangler was written and directed by Matt Ruskin; Knightley is joined by a stellar cast that includes Carrie Coon, Chris Cooper, Alessandro Nivola, and Rory Cochrane.  

BOSTON STRANGLER: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT? 

The Gist: Boston, 1962. Journalist Loretta McLaughlin (Knightley) tracks the crime scoops that fall to competitors of the Record American while she languishes with other women reporters on the lifestyle desk, writing reviews of the latest home conveniences while the six guys her editor Jack MacLaine (Chris Cooper) has on the crime desk completely miss the underlying links between the murders of a series of area women. The victims lived alone, they were strangled with stockings that were specifically tied into a decorative bow, and the killer neither stole anything nor left any evidence. But Jack balks at putting Loretta on the story. “How am I supposed to get any experience if you won’t give me a shot?” The sexism she encounters doesn’t stop at work. Her neighbors, her sister-in-law, and even her own mother wonder who’s raising her three children while Loretta’s out chasing news stories.

After her crafty reporting produces confirmation that the killings are linked, Jack relents and runs Loretta’s story on page one, which immediately draws the ire of grumbly police commissioner Edmund McNamara (Bill Camp). “Was it your idea to send some skirt down to the station house?” Boston PD brass is dismissive and uncooperative, but with more murders occurring, the paper assigns veteran investigative journalist Jean Cole (Carrie Coon) to the Strangler story alongside Loretta, and they begin generating leads for Jim Conley (Alessandro Nivola), the sympathetic but overworked detective on the case. 

“Girls’ Strangler Series Draws Response.” The Record American publishes pictures of Loretta and Jean as if these “girl reporters” are a novelty act. It’s a grating stunt, but it doesn’t deter their reporting, and Loretta tracks prime suspect Albert DeSalvo (David Dastmalchian) even as her stories give the killer a name: The Boston Strangler. As the body count climbs into double digits, the cops are nowhere close to charging anybody – “He’s out there somewhere, laughing at us,” Conley says – and Boston becomes a mixture of panic and fatigue. Everyone just wants it to be over. And that’s before the cases are sensationalized by grandstanding defense attorney F. Lee Bailey (Luke Kirby). But it’s not possible for Loretta to just leave it alone. And her marriage suffers as she remains undeterred in finding justice for all of the women who were silenced.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of? With its mysterious serial killer, period setting, gloomy color palette, and sinister underpinnings, Boston Strangler has drawn quite a bit of comparison to David Fincher’s 2007 film Zodiac. But you could also add Fincher’s Boston-set murder mystery Gone Girl into the mix – that also co-starred Carrie Coon.

Performance Worth Watching: Strangler is a wonderful showcase for Keira Knightley, who plays Loretta McLaughlin with a winning blend of determination and perspective on the sexism and limiting opportunities of the era. But in their brief appearances, Alessandro Nivola and Rory Cochrane each lend a compelling saltiness to their stock detective roles.  

Memorable Dialogue: “Of the hundreds of women DeSalvo assaulted,” Loretta tells Jack and Jean of the prime suspect, “all his victims were young.” Even worse, with the killer on the loose, his crimes offer an unseemly cover. “Other men used the Strangler to get rid of women they didn’t want around anymore.” 

Sex and Skin: Nothing explicit, but a few of the victims are seen in their homes as well as lurid crime scene photos.

Our Take: To follow the twists and turns in the true story of the Boston Strangler as this film presents it can be a little fruitless, since there’s an understanding from the viewer that resolution is a hollow goal. And it certainly doesn’t help that director Matt Ruskin often frames the action in a halting manner, lingering on the fringes of what would become murder scenes and only building the character of Anthonly DeSalvo in flashbacks and a contested murder confession that leads to more frustration for Loretta McLaughlin. We are, in turn, frustrated as viewers, because the entire vibe of Strangler is green-gray, brooding, and full of growling music cues that make it feel like there’s going to be a murder in every single scene. 

Fortunately, the cast here is completely invested. Knightley is terrific as Loretta, and watching her navigate chauvinism and the callous exclusion she encounters as a journalist to ultimately land sources, leads, and stories is rewarding. Chris Cooper somehow makes a full character out of the three or four solid scenes where he has to harrumph his way past establishment perspective to support his women reporters. And Carrie Coon makes Jean Cole not just a mentor for Loretta, but a character with meaningful layers of her own. (The handful of scenes between Coon and Knightley, whether at work or in conversation over whiskeys at a tavern, are some of Boston Strangler’s best.) This is a sturdily-crafted film that leans too much on mood to establish its murder mystery bona fides, but benefits from a series of well-acted individual moments.  

Our Call: STREAM IT. Keira Knightley leads a strong cast in Boston Strangler, who all lend real watchability to this true crime tale even as its pendulous air and brooding soundtrack begin to get a little suffocating.

Johnny Loftus is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift. Follow him on Twitter: @glennganges