HBO Lights Up the Dark
When writers cross the fine line from passion into obsession, it can lead to an unnerving desire towards perfection that often goes unfinished. That’s what happened when Michelle McNamara began writing the New York Times best seller I'll Be Gone in the Dark, which has inspired the documentary series of the same name. The six-episode series follows the writing process of the late McNamara while chasing down the cold case of the Golden State Killer.
Directed by Academy Award nominee and Emmy-winning director Liz Garbus (HBO’s Who Killed Garrett Phillips, Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper), the series follows the investigation into the "The Golden State Killer," the man who terrorized California in the 1970’s and 80’s and is responsible for fifty home-invasion rapes and twelve murders. This was a case that had no new leads in over twenty years and only written about on true crime blogs and other unsolved mystery corners of the internet. Enter author Michelle McNamara, who follows the bread crumb trail down the rabbit hole in a compelling narrative. The unique take of following the author's journey and not the killer's timeline gracefully shows the writing process and then slowly turning it into an obsessive nature. Each episode lends itself to more clues and more insight of the rapes and murders that have largely been ignored or over shadowed over time.
By lifting direct quotes from the book to drive the narrative, interviews are not solely on the surviving victims. In fact, the interviews with the victims are used sparingly, instead focusing on McNamara, her husband Patton Oswalt, and her writing partners that helped to craft the book chasing down leads and sifting through the case files available to them. The community built around piecing the clues together makes for a captivating watch as you want to know more after each episode. All this leads to a bitter sweet ending as the book was finished without the killer being caught and brought to justice.
Any fans of true crime shows will be pleasantly surprised with this case study that eluded detectives for over a decade. Michelle McNamara has given a voice to those who have been silenced while also providing a voice for herself. Join this deep dive look into an unsolved mystery and what it takes to solve a decades long cold case.
