Two Episode Premiere: “The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox”
If you were of the age to be aware of global news in 2007, you know the name Amanda Knox. At the time, she was twenty and, like a lot of young people her age in college, she took advantage of a study abroad program that brought her to Italy. Instead of selecting one of the flashier cities, Amanda chose Perugia, where she lived with three roommates, only one of whom was a fellow exchange student, Meredith Kercher. Almost two months after Amanda and Meredith moved in, Amanda would find Meredith murdered. The subsequent trial and media storm provide the framework for Hulu’s upcoming limited series, The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox.
Hulu has released the first two episodes of the series with Grace Van Patten starring as Amanda. The show opens in Italy, but not in 2007. Instead, it’s 2022 and Amanda is hunched over in the backseat of a car that’s driven by her parents. Amanda’s child is buckled into a carseat next to her. For the first time since Meredith’s death, Amanda has returned to Italy. The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox creates two timelines that build the structure of the series and Amanda’s search for justice.
(Disney/Andrea Miconi)
The real Amanda is heavily involved with the series and, interestingly enough, so is Monica Lewinsky. Both serve as producers and both know how harsh the spotlight can feel when an individual is thrust into it without any warning. Above all else, The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox is a look at truth. As much as we’d all like to believe there are truths and lies, the reality is that the distinction between the two might not matter to those in positions of power. From the first two episodes, it’s clear that the series isn’t trying to make a sweeping declaration that Amanda is innocent. It doesn’t shy away from the fact that she made some odd choices in the immediate aftermath of finding Meredith, including the infamous photos of her kissing her boyfriend of one week, Raffaele Sollecito (Giuseppe De Domenico).
(Disney/Andrea Miconi)
What the first two episodes of The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox do exceptionally well is show the audience how easy it is to be seen as the murderer without any real evidence. Almost immediately, Amanda is referred to as “the American roommate,” said as an insult. She’s subjected to a grueling fourteen-hour interrogation in a language she’s barely conversational in. It’s only after repeated begging that she’s given a translator, but the show quite masterfully displays how easily meaning is lost in translation. Even when it’s Raffaele who is helping Amanda, his small changes create distrust between Amanda and her roommates that snowballs to an unprecedented degree.
It was only a matter of time until Amanda Knox and the death of Meredith Kercher became some type of television series. The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox is not the first time her story has been adapted for the big and small screens, but it does mark a change in that Amanda has a part in crafting this narrative. There’s a surprising amount of whimsy in the first episode that is missing after the murder takes place, but it’s the first time people will likely see Amanda as the twenty-year-old girl she was at the time. A self-described bit of a loner, Amanda is goofy and clearly not everyone’s cup of tea. She tells police that she and Raffaele watched Amélie the night before the murder, and that suits her. The magical realism of Amélie bleeds into the way The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox portrays its lead – a young girl, full of hope, who is yanked down to earth by reality.
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