Unbelievable: A Tough but Important Story

I know I just did some quick-fire reviews of movies I’ve watched recently, but I recently binged watched a new Netflix show and wanted to chat about it! So, here we are.

 Unbelievable

The true story of Marie, a teenager who was charged with lying about having been raped, and the two female detectives who followed a twisting path to arrive at the truth.

Content warnings: This show does contain scenes of kidnapping and rape. As well as all the aftermath with medical treatment, police work, etc.

RATING: ★★★★★

Unbelievable was a very tough watch – I’ll just go out and say that right away. So, if you aren’t looking for a show that will probably make you uncomfortable and most likely cry, this might not be for you. Personally, I thought that emotional turmoil was worth it.

Unbelievable follows two story-lines in two different years. The first story it follows is that of Marie. She was attacked and sexually assaulted while she was sleeping. She told the police but because of a lack of evidence and doubt from the people around her, the police don’t believe her and drop the investigation eventually charging Marie herself with false reporting. The other story it follows is of two female detectives several years later investigating a series of sexual assaults – all of which have a similarity to Marie’s, but they don’t even know who Marie is.

The two timelines definitely make it so frustrating to watch. As the audience, we know the connections and similarities, but the detectives just haven’t made them. They don’t even know about her because of the failure of Marie’s detectives. Let me tell you, that will just piss you off because if it wasn’t for this detectives failure, so many of the terrible things that happen to Marie and other women later in the show just wouldn’t have happened.

As for the content itself, everyone is going to have a different opinion on how these topics are dealt with. For example, I thought 13 Reasons Why handled it well – while others do not. For me, I like what this show did. It shows the range of reactions and emotions not only from the victim but also the people around them – the police, medical staff, friends, family, etc. I feel like a lot of media depict police and medical staff as absolutely terrible when handling sexual assault victims. While that can be true (like in Marie’s case), it isn’t always that way (like the 2 detectives). So, I appreciate the variety it demonstrated because it felt more real and less biased.

Disclaimer: I have been present for a sexual assault investigation. From reporting to police interviews to medical examinations. This is why I have a stronger feeling towards how these things are depicted in media and why I liked how Unbelievable did it. Again, this is my opinion and it may not be this way for everyone.

Overall, Unbelievable is a must-watch. It’s hard to use the word “enjoy” with this one because there isn’t anything enjoyable about watching sexual assault victims struggling with the aftermath, but I did like this one. I think it’s an important one to watch for anyone interested.

If you want to know more about the true story:

• Here is a People article about the two real-life detectives
• This is the article the show was based on
• This is the radio episode about it as well

Have you watched this one? Will you watch it?