Facts: Keira Knightley
Age: 37
Family: Married to musician James Righton and has two children
Lives: London
Occupation: Actor
Previous roles: “Screw it like Beckham”, “Love actuslly”, “King Arthur”, “Pride and Prejudice”, “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies, “Atonement”, “Never let me go”, “A dangerous method “, “Anna Karenina”, “The imitation game”, “The aftermath”.
Current in the movie “Boston strangler” on the streaming service Disney+.
During the years 1962–1964, 13 single women were murdered in the Boston area. They were between 19 and 85 years old and most had been raped and strangled. The work of the police left much to be desired, not least because several of the murders took place in different locations and communication between different police districts was basically zero.
But Jean Cole and Loretta McLaughlin, journalists at the Boston Record American newspaper, suspected that the crimes were connected. In a series of articles, they linked the murders and held the police accountable. They were also the ones who named the suspected serial killer the Boston Strangler.
“Investigative journalism is so incredibly important,” says Keira Knightley.
Knew nothing
In the film, Knightley plays McLaughlin and Carrie Coon plays Cole. In the US, the case is well known, not least after the film “The Boston Strangler” from 1968 with Tony Curtis as the killer. There have been several films and television series based on the story.
But when Keira Knightley, born and raised in England, was offered one of the lead roles, she had never heard of the case.
— I knew absolutely nothing. When I read the script, it was the first time I heard about it. What I fell for was not least that the whole thing is portrayed from the point of view of these two journalists.
Hard to describe
Filming has been educational, Knightley thinks.
— When we made the film, it gave me a good insight into how journalists sometimes have to work, how it involves going through papers and digging in archives. This is probably why it is difficult to depict everyday journalistic work on film. It is difficult to dramatize it, she says.
Carrie Coon examines how “Boston strangler” portrays two female pioneers who brought about change.
— It was not least interesting how these two female journalists in the early 60s fought against the powerful Boston police. Their job meant that people subsequently started to communicate better between different police districts, she says.
