The question has never been definitively answered: Did Amanda Knox kill her roommate Meredith Kercher while studying abroad in Italy? Netflix’s new documentary Amanda Knox reexamines the case, but based on two new trailers, you may end up more unsure than ever.
In a brilliant marketing ploy, the streamer’s trailers offer conflicting points of view. One, entitled Believe Her, makes the case for a girl who ended up being scapegoated after her roommate was tragically murdered. The other, called Suspect Her, doesn’t shy away from the fact that she could be “a psychopath in sheep’s clothing.”
Tonally, the two trailers couldn’t be more different. Believe Her gives Knox a chance to tell the story in her own words, revisiting her childhood, why she went to Italy, and how horrible the ordeal was for her. A reporter also weighs in, criticizing media coverage of the case and the media treatment of Knox.
Suspect Her, on the other hand, calls her behavior into question. Ambiguous sections of interviews and interrogations with Knox provide the narrative, along with headlines and commentary from the prosecutor. The seed of doubt is firmly planted.
With Knox having been both convicted and acquitted by Italian courts — twice each, no less — the speculation hasn’t ended in the nine years since the murder occurred. The trailers capitalize on this lingering curiosity, and they highlight the documentary’s exclusive interviews with Knox, co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito, prosecutor Guiliano Mignini, and Daily Mail reporter Nick Pisa. The film looks fascinating, whether or not you followed the original case.
Rod Blackhurst and Brian McGinn directed the documentary, and Mette Heide produced. Amanda Knox is set to premiere Friday at the Toronto International Film Festival, and then it will be available around the world on Netflix on September 30.