When I finish watching a show, I always try to think of the first couple of words that come to my mind about it. Those are usually a perfect sample of what the show meant to me. In this case, this was extremely easy: revolting.
The show is about a girl, Marie (Kaitlyn Dever), with a foster care system past, who claims to have been raped. It all begins with her describing to the police, and later to hospital staff, what happened to her. I’m not sure of how many times, but I would say around 5. Five times, remembering all the details of her traumatizing experience.
The cold environment, the repetition, the constant amount of tests without a kind word to Marie, it's so cruel. While you see Marie being interrogated, examined, and photographed, you understand why most victims do not report. What came to my mind was: the criminal has rights, but how about the victim’s rights?
Is it true?
The investigation starts, and the feeling of discomfort grows. The police officers - all older male officers - have a condescending behavior towards Marie. The constant interrogations and trauma make her change a few details in her story. The cops start suspecting she is lying.
The pressure is so high that, at some point, Marie drops the charge and becomes a liar. I don’t think many people would deal with all that differently.
The show is terrific, and there are moments when you might feel a little confused. Is she indeed lying? No, she is not.
Years later, two female cops investigate other rape cases that eventually connect to Marie’s. The disparity in treatment between these women and Marie might make you feel sick.
Revolting
You have a victim, visibly traumatized, and no one believes her. Worst of all, no one cares about her or her feelings. Even if she was lying, shouldn’t someone talk to her? Try to understand what’s going on.
In this case, no one cared. The police didn’t believe her, the foster mother didn’t believe her, her friends didn’t believe... No one. Everything failed. The system failed. The people failed. Most importantly, the people who should protect her failed.
Marie loses everything. She loses her job, the respect of her peers, and her self-confidence (already too low to begin with). She lives a nightmare, and don’t forget: this is a real story.
Current topic
Marie’s story is only one more. The complaints about sexual assault are more than ever. And so it is the doubts about their veracity.
Statistically speaking, there are sufficient false reports to justify those concerns. Yet, after watching this, shouldn’t we have second thoughts? Can we know for sure that amongst those “false reports” there weren’t more “Maries”?
Why do we question the victims so much and the perpetrators so little?
The Portrait of Society Misconceptions
Watching the show can make you feel horrified. It’s a good portrait of our society’s misconceptions about the reliability of the witnesses. The easy judgment about who is, or is not, worthy of listening.
The cast is excellent. The story is a bit slow at the beginning, but it manages to catch your interest from the first minute. Through the episodes, you can feel the despair and sadness that real Marie surely felt, while everybody was letting her down.
Therefore, Unbelievable leaves us a valuable lesson: each person reacts to trauma differently and deserves to be understood and supported, regardless.
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