Did Hulu's The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox perfectly portray a tumultuous murder investigation? Here's our take on the same

Hulu's latest true-crime docu-series The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox premiered its first two episodes recently. The series follows the infamous case of Amanda Knox (portrayed by Grave Van Patten) in 2007, where she was wrongfully incarcerated for four years (and eventually released) for the murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher.

After numerous documentaries, a full-length TV film, and a Netflix show simply titled Amanda Knox, Hulu's docu-series again shines a spotlight on Knox, who also serves as one of the executive producers. The eight-part true crime series takes us behind the scenes of one of the most infamous murder interrogations that ruled the tabloids and public interest in 2007.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox is truly another attempt to correct Amanda Knox's lived trauma, through a retelling of her memoir Waiting to be Heard. After the idyllic Italian montage of Knox's supposedly perfect life abroad, the docu-series quickly jumps to the crime scene, where the innocent exchange student and roommate was painted as the prime suspect of the crime.

While the first two episodes weave together an impressive murder investigation that forever changed the life of an innocent young woman, it does so at the expense of its victim, who is barely given any screen time. Meredith Kercher exists merely as an accessory, a means to correct the wrongs committed against Amanda Knox.

More on The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox in our story.

*Disclaimer- This article is based on the author's opinion. Reader discretion is advised.*

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox attempts to correct and rewrite Knox's lived trauma

The structure of the first two episodes of The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox questions our obsession with true crime stories and why the infamously innocent woman is still not able to separate herself from a crime she had no connection to. Unlike other crime stories, which depict all the gory details of the crime scene and its victim, Hulu's eight-part series puts the viewers inside the shoes of the 'suspect', the innocent woman who was closely involved in its making. This subversion of the true crime genre in The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox is clearly done to correct Knox's narrative, as she is rigorously questioned by Italian detectives in a language she barely understands.

The interrogation scene in Episode 2 is where the Hulu docu-series really connects its audience with Amanda Knox. In true crime formula fashion, we are given suffocatingly close-up shots and distorted audios of detectives trying to get Amanda to confess. The most controversial moment in the interrogation, which also highlights the incompetence of the legal system, is when Amnada gives an incorrect confession in barely passable Italian, after she sees no way out of her ordeal.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox impressively highlights the missteps in Italian interrogation, especially the language barrier, which was clearly overlooked, leading to the wrongful imprisonment of an innocent young woman. Right from the stuffy interrogation room to the overzealous prosecutors picking apart Amanda's s*x life, the viewers get a clear picture as to why she ended up in prison eventually.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox sidelines its victim (again)

While The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox subverts the true crime genre, it only leads to the deepening of the voyeuristic mythology around the victim, Meredith Kercher, who is painfully sidelined in the first two episodes. Like many other adaptations of Knox's 2007 case, the Hulu docu-series also corrects its protagonist' narrative at the expense of Kercher, the victim.

The first two episodes do not seem interested in Meredith Kercher's murder investigation, who barely features in the series, but rather on the aftermath, which led to Knox's wrongful incarceration. The show impressively handles the crime scene, respecting the deceased and just focusing on the confusion that followed, but we are given no insight into Kercher's life or her relationship with Amanda. The show honours its victim with a few running and staple flashbacks of a typical free-spirited college student.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox forgets its victim, as a character rightly points out:

“Meredith’s murder is always discussed in the context of Amanda. People are fixated on her and they’ve completely forgotten everybody else.''

This sentiment was also discussed by Kercher's sister, Stephanie Kercher, who slammed Disney+ for making another show at her sister's expense. The Hulu series can't help but fall prey to the same narrative, completely sidelining and eventually forgetting its biggest victim, Meredith Kercher.

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