- Released: 9 September 2021, on Netflix
- Creator: Patricia Tourancheau
Women and the Murderer is not your average true-crime documentary on Netflix (Though there is nothing average about gruesome crime stories). But what stands out (and is pretty obvious from the title) is that the whole narration of this documentary is by women. The women involved in the investigation, directly affected by the crime, journalists covering the crimes, and those who are defending the accused and trying to bring him behind bars. All women.
The documentary is about the arrest of Guy Georges. A serial killer who raped, assaulted, murdered several women in the 1990s. His area of operation being the neighbourhood of Bastille earned him the title of "Beast of Bastille".
Starting the documentary with pictures of women having a merry time it soon turns ominous with the music changing and the slideshow of happy women turning into ones related to the crime. The stars of the documentary are Chief of Police Martine Monteil and Anne Gautier who is the mother of one of the victims of Guy Georges. There is journalist Patricia Tourancheau, also deeply invested in the case.
The documentary follows the struggles these women had to undergo to find the serial killer. Martine Monteil being one of the first women Chiefs of Police had to wave through the world of men to nab the killer. Working through a sexist environment with a lack of proper technology Martine had more than her share of troubles. And being hounded by the mother of a victim did not help matters either.
Martine provides you with hard, cold-hearted facts whereas Anne, a victim's mother takes you through the immensely emotional and heart-breaking journey that she went through in helping to find the murderer of her child. The documentary not just shows the arrest of the beast but, also the aftermath of the arrest in the courtroom which to no one's surprise is also dominated by women lawyers.
Women and the Murderer may be one of the first documentaries where you get an all-women perspective. It also shows you how the lack of appropriate technology and not taking women seriously can lead to delayed delivery of justice. There are moments when the documentary slows down but it still does not bore you because these women are not the ones to slow down. After all, the world is tough but they are tougher.
By SB
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