Obviously, real life is inspiration for the cinema, and it is not the first time that Netflix has used a true story in one of its fictions. Not only if we talk about biopics like Blondealso terrifying stories like that of the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer who is brought to life by an impressive Luke Evans in the series Dahmer.
The most recent case (and one of his last great successes) is The vigilantthe series with Naomi Watts in the lead and who plans to become one of the best Netflix series. Now the platform streaming repeats the formula with the film starring Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris, which has already been placed in the top of the most seen in Spain: The stranger.
What is the movie really based on? The stranger
The official synopsis states that “an undercover policeman will be forced to create an intense and intimate relationship with a murder suspect to try to gain his trust and extract a confession”, but the truth is that the film of Netflix does not focus its plot on the murder that originates it. In fact the crime is not recreated and the victim is not even representedit is only named.
All the characters of The stranger They have fictitious names, but the film is based on the police investigation of one of the most notorious crimes in Australia and that took a decade to solve: the 2003 kidnapping and murder of Daniel Morcombe, a 13-year-old boy from Queensland.
The film is based on The Stinga book by journalist Kate Kyriacou which recounts in detail an investigative technique called “Mr Big” used to obtain confessions in crimes from cold cases, and which was used to solve the Morcombe case. In the words of its director Thomas M Wright, “the more I read it, the more I saw a film that is not about violence at all. Clearly, the motif of the film is an unspeakable act of violence that embodies the worst that human animals are capable of. But that’s not the subject of the movie.”
This thriller is about empathy and connections between people and about the work of professionals who have dedicated their lives to this criminal investigation.
Before beginning the project, the studio contacted Daniel Morcombe’s parents, Bruce and Denise Morcombe, to make a film centered on the killer, something they They flatly refused, alleging that “Daniel’s legacy is about educating children.” In fact, they claim that the film is “not supported by the Morcombe family”.
Before the premiere of the film, Daniel’s parents described the project it’s a statement as a “morally corrupt” film and “a cruel, insensitive and selfish money grab”.
SPOILER alert: From here we are going to tell you part of the movie to clarify what is different from the real story, so if you haven’t seen it, you better stop reading.
The case of Daniel Morcombe
The research, carried out between 2003 and 2011, sought find who kidnapped and murdered Daniel Morcombea 13-year-old Australian boy who disappeared on December 7, 2003 on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast while on his way to a shopping mall, according to The Courier-Mails.
Waiting at the bus stop, a bus driver passed by but did not stop because he was running late, radioing his colleagues that a boy and a man were waiting. When the second bus passed, neither of them was there. Later the Australian police discovered that this man was Brett Peter Cowan.
Several eyewitnesses saw Daniel waiting at the bus stop, and a blue sedan parked nearby, as described by The Courier-Mail. That tip, coupled with the fact that Cowan was a known sex offender living in the area, made him a prime suspect, but there wasn’t enough evidence to charge him.
Sketches of the suspect were published and even a million dollar reward was offered anyone with information about Daniel’s death, but even though
Everything pointed to Brett Peter Cowan as the main suspect, the impossibility of obtaining a clear line of investigation capable of convicting him, made the research team decide to try ‘Mr Big‘.
During the police operation, a fake criminal gang was created and undercover agents lured Cowan with the promise of a reward if he joined them in their next heist, on the condition that he confess to his boss the worst thing he had done.
To prove his loyalty, Cowan told Arnold (the undercover officer on the case) what he had done years before: Cowan approached Morcombe at the bus stop and offered to give him a ride. Cowan abused 30 children in his life, according to 7NEWS Australiaand wanted to abuse the boy too, but he panicked and ended up grabbing his neck. He confessed to the murder of Daniel and told the undercover policeman where he was buried. In August 2011 he was finally arrested and, after confessing to the crime, found guilty and sentenced to life in prison after trial in 2014.
None of this appears in the film, only the relationship between the two as we told you at the beginning. It is only inspired by this crime to narrate the relationship between the murderer and the police. Whether or not it is morally right to use these types of cases to make cinema and series, is another topic.
Photos | The stranger (Netflix)