Netflix Subscribers Are Going Wild Over This New True Crime Documentary
"Making a Murderer" kicked off a trend of Netflix dropping tons of gripping true crime documentary projects. More recently, the streaming service has released viral documentary series like "Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel" and "Murder Among the Mormons," proving that the media giant has all but perfected the true crime documentary genre.
The most recent true crime docuseries on Netlfix is currently dominating the streaming giant's Top 10 list and is only expected to rise in the rankings. "Sophie: A Murder in West Cork" has been lauded by publications such as the Irish Times: "As is always the objective with Netflix true-crime stories, 'Sophie: A Murder in West Cork' makes for gripping viewing, full of twists and turns ... Just as importantly, [director John] Dower brings the victim to life as a woman full of passion, beloved by her family and besotted by life itself." The outlet added that Dower makes sure that the project is truly Sophie Toscan du Plantier and that every other charactersimply offers support in telling her story.
Sophie: A Murder in West Cork tells a haunting true story
The story at the center of "Sophie: A Murder in West Cork" is the horrible death of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, a French television producer who was murdered outside of her vacation home in Schull, County Cork, Ireland. In three roughly hour-long episodes, "Sophie: A Murder in West Cork" attempts to piece together the events leading up to the tragic night, with interviews from local townspeople, Sophie's only son Pierre Louis Baudey-Vignaud, and even the prime suspect — as the series breaks down the investigative process as the detectives tried to discover the truth.
The series' director, John Dower, made it clear that he wanted to avoid sensationalizing Toscan du Plantier's murder, and instead aimed to focus on her life and legacy. "Sophie was a very beautiful blonde woman, but there was so much more to her than that and we wanted to paint that true picture, including her troubled relationships, but also that she was a very loyal friend, a fantastic mother, somebody's daughter, sister – we were keen to show she was a real individual," Dower told Esquire. "The family gave us their blessing to make the documentary and gave us just two stipulations: do not show any pictures of the body and please try and put Sophie back at the centre of the story, as in other stories, she seems to have disappeared."
"Sophie: A Murder in West Cork" is now streaming on Netflix.