4 Years Before ‘The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox,’ Matt Damon Starred in a Film Inspired by the Real Events, and Knox Hated It

The story of Amanda Knox and her wrongful conviction for homicide in Italy, for higher or worse, is prime for narrative adaptation in movie or tv. Particularly, the miniseries format of tv thrives off these true crime sagas about younger ladies and homicide. The topic of varied books, documentaries, and an onslaught of media protection throughout and after her trial and acquittal course of, Knox’s decade-long story is now the focus of a new Hulu miniseries, The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox, with Grace Van Patten as the titular star.

Before the 2025 Hulu sequence, Tom McCarthy, in his long-awaited follow-up to Highlight, allegorically examined the Amanda Knox trial and media frenzy with Stillwater, starring Matt Damon in one of his best performances in current years. Whereas indirectly tailored from any Knox-related supply materials, the movie, about a Southern father investigating the fact behind his daughter’s wrongful homicide conviction in France, options all the hallmarks of Knox’s story, one thing the determine herself was displeased with.

What Is ‘Stillwater’ About?

Launched in the early days of the gradual return to the theatrical trade in 2021, Stillwater‘s advertising and marketing and promotional materials counsel that the movie is a Taken-esque revenge thriller about a kick-ass “lady dad” taking out his vengeance on those that wronged his daughter abroad. In fact, that is not the sort of story that will draw Tom McCarthy or Matt Damon, as this drama follows Invoice Baker (Damon), an unemployed roughneck oil-driller from Oklahoma, who heads to France to go to his daughter, Allison (Abigail Breslin), wrongfully convicted of the homicide of her roommate and lover, and ultimately launches his personal investigation into the actual perpetrator, aided by a native lady serving to him with translation, Virginie (Camille Cottin).

On the outdoors, Stillwater, about a dissatisfied Southern blue-collar employee touring to Europe to settle issues his personal manner, guarantees to be a provocative reflection of radical conservatism in a post-Donald Trump world. In actuality, the movie is far more sobering and nuanced, fastidiously finding out the conflict between a cussed American and the societal norms and procedures of a international territory. Whereas the movie devotes a lot of its thematic weight to the distraught angst of having the one you love be falsely convicted of a horrific crime, Stillwater, instructed with McCarthy’s understated however exact directing, deconstructs the media fervor of an Amanda Knox-style case.

The connection between Invoice, Virginie, and the native residents they encounter represents the contrasting human dynamics between individuals from reverse elements of the world. The shortage of sensationalism prevents Stillwater from being a business powerhouse or viral phenomenon, however it makes for a extra considerate narrative than something propagated by the press or cable documentaries. The movie’s formulaic third act hinders some of its extra exploratory parts, however it’s in the end a sharp and fastidiously noticed research of justice and morality.

It would’ve been straightforward for a coastal Hollywood star like Matt Damon to play Invoice Baker as a broad stereotype of a Southern man. Whereas Invoice does converse in a heavy accent and sports activities a trucker cap, he’s something however a rube. His investigative expertise are uneven at finest, however his dedication and occasional shrewd instincts are heroic in spirit, even when he comes off as abrasive. Now in his 50s, Damon wears his age and grizzled, weathered aura brilliantly in The Final Duel, Air, and Oppenheimer, and his Stillwater efficiency is proudly unglamorous, distorting the traditional thick boundaries between good and evil.

Amanda Knox Criticized ‘Stillwater’ for Exploiting Her Story

Regardless of how nuanced critics can argue on behalf of Stillwater, its sheer existence will likely be considered as exploitative by figures carefully associated to the textual content. In the lead-up to the movie’s launch, Amanda Knox lampooned Tom McCarthy, Matt Damon, and all events concerned in Stillwater for capitalizing on her story with out her authorization. Along with “rip[ping] off my story with out my consent at the expense of my status,” she criticized the movie for fictionalizing varied unflattering parts, comparable to having a sexual relationship with the actual killer, in her blog post. “By fictionalizing away my innocence, my complete lack of involvement, by erasing the position of the authorities in my wrongful conviction, McCarthy reinforces a picture of me as a responsible and untrustworthy individual,” Knox wrote.

Stillwater has one foot in every door: one that’s a loosely dramatized account of Knox’s trial, and one that’s a fictional story of felony justice and human understanding that pays no thoughts to historical past. By weaving these sentiments, Knox’s story turns into distorted, which is troublesome contemplating that her ordeal revolved round the distortion of fact. As a result of she skilled the trauma of Abigail Breslin’s character and obtained nothing like a Hollywood remedy, Knox is justified in her response. Regardless of what number of acquittals she receives, she’ll at all times should combat towards her picture of being synonymous with a homicide she did not commit. Sadly, standard media inherently exploits and glamorizes traumatic occasions, and audiences reckon with this every single day.