Amanda Knox (2016)

I have many thoughts about this film, for starters, I genuinely have no idea what angle the filmmakers were trying to make. If they were trying to show Knox’s innocence, then I feel they did a poor job, but if the intent was to reignite the allure and salacious nature of the story then I guess they succeeded? In all honestly, some of the creative choices bothered me, well I guess having Amanda’s testimonies involved in the amount that they were made the film appear biased in her favor. I don’t know anything besides the information presented and I can’t help but think that this film is just as exploitative as the morally corrupt and unethical journalists once writing about her during the height of the case.

I am a fan of mockumentaries as a genre and I watch them quite frequently, so some of the interviews and editing choices felt off to me, which is a completely personal reaction based on my experiences as a viewer, but I’d argue that even to the naked eye, some of the interviews seemed biased and inauthentic. The film sort of felt like a fictitious dramatization of the real events, I understand the the story is unique and has an aura of intrigue, but at times I just wished the story wasn’t told in such a cinematic manner? At the end of the day these stories are of course told in a way that is entertaining because while the role of documentaries such as this are somewhat journalistic, because this case is somewhat closed, I guess I was confused by the way the story was presented as an open case. At times, the film appears to make the viewer question Knox’s innocence, despite her involvement with testimonies for the film, which seems contradictory? Is Knox’s involvement with this film simply to maintain the mystery and attention from her case and status as a media figure, or is it purely an opportunity for her side of the story to be heard when it previously was told primarily by the press. I haven’t decided what her or the filmmakers’ intent was for this documentary, but I’ve sort of concluded that this is just an extension of the media circus surrounding the case and it’s, in my opinion, very disrespectful towards the victim and her family.