Girl In The Picture feels like a great thriller penned by the likes of James Patterson or Andrew Kevin Walker. If you watch this documentary unaware of its subject matter then you have no idea what you’re in for. There’s a reason people are shocked and repulsed by Girl In The Picture, the story it tells is incredible. However, you then remember that Girl In The Picture is a documentary, the characters you meet are real people and the twists and turns they experienced are actual events they had to live with, which raises a few questions regarding the ethics of these ever so popular true crime documentaries.

This Netflix documentary introduces us to a mysterious case concerning a young woman’s death. The cause is unclear but as police investigate, they discover a bizarre and disturbing saga that spans decades.

The Angle

There’s nothing special about Girl In The Picture’s documentary style. Like other Netflix docuseries the film simply begins where the investigation does and tracks its progress, introducing us to the people involved on the way.

Seeing this story told as a feature film rather than a series is very refreshing. It allows for an absolutely perfect pace, there’s never any lulls or pauses, every minute there’s something to learn. If Girl In The Picture was stretched out to even a miniseries, the pace would be nowhere near as electric.

The fast pace and tense tone match the thriller-like nature of the story but once again we must remember that this story concerns real events with real people. So was this the best way to tell their story? And should it have been told at all?

Problematic?

Of all the critics and journalists who’ve reviewed Girl In The Picture, I found Jessie Thompson’s in The Independent the most enlightening. She suggests that this film and docuseries like it has turned us into voyeurs and despite how ethically the film appears to have been made (having the consent of the individuals and families involved), its overall purpose is simply to keep us watching.

I understand Thompson’s suspicions of the filmmakers’ intentions. As an amazing watch as it is, I had to remind myself that this was based on someone’s real tragedy. Presenting that tragedy like a crime thriller in the same vein as Se7en or Zodiac may be in bad taste.

Perhaps the film should have been a series, at least then there would be time to flesh out the characters and present them more like the real people they are. It may not have been as entertaining but it may have been more moral.

Girl In The Picture could be a turning point in the true crime phenomenon. If you think this film may go against any of your values having read my description of it then I can only urge you to avoid it. If you believe you can tolerate the film’s style as well as its gruesome content then I would recommend it. There’s no denying its addictive pace and its potential ramifications on the true crime genre.

I give Girl In The Picture a provocative 7 out of 10.