Unbelievable: what’s unbelievable is the injustice

 

Across the world, many cases of sexual assaults go unreported. In India, as per a study, these could be as high as 99% of the cases. Similar studies in the United States suggest that these cases are grossly under-reported. One of the most cited reasons among many is the lack of trust. We tend to blame the overall system for this dreadful situation. However, the first two episodes of Unbelievable are enough to give you a glimpse on why the people who are part of the system are equally to be blamed.

Unbelievable opens with 18-year old Marie Adler being raped by a person who breaks into her apartment. She reports this to the cops only to be disbelieved by them. Cops with pre-conceived notions about her, based on what they read in her background file, dismiss her case assuming she is false-reporting. In the second episode, there is another victim of sexual assault – and we see a different detective handling the victim in a complete opposite manner wherein she is comforted. As a result, she opens up with much more details that help the police. Both these detectives, though part of different districts, operate within the confines of the same rules. The episodes contrast the stark difference on how a case is approached by two different police officers who are part of the same system.

Streaming on Netflix, Unbelievable is a limited series released in 2019 based on the 2008–2011 Washington and Colorado serial rape cases. The series is shown in two parallel threads. One is focused on Marie and the trauma and discrimination she faces as the girl who is believed to have falsely reported a sexual assault case. Her story is interspersed throughout the season showcasing her agony and vulnerability. Under played very well by Kaitlyn Dever, you feel for Marie and want to just comfort her every time someone lets her down. Kaitlyn as her character displays a range of emotions and is perfect.

The other narrative is set 3 years later, where two detectives are investigating a series of rapes which are linked with each other and the one where Marie was the victim. Merritt Wever as Detective Karen Duvall is a god-believing cop who is soft and compassionate with her victims. Her empathy for them is what makes her a good detective and she cares enough to reprimand anyone who is not giving a 100 percent. Detective Grace Rasmussen, played by the fantastic Toni Collette, is an atheist who is more experienced and pragmatic of the two. She is tough and believes in focusing on the ultimate goal – justice for the victims. Their characters complement each other well.

Merritt Wever and Toni Collette balance each other brilliantly and in the process create some of TV’s finest moments. They are detectives who are worried enough that if they do not catch the person behind this soon enough, one more life could be ruined. The depiction of the investigation itself is grounded in realities which involves hours of rummaging through video footage, tirelessly making phone calls in search of a lead and a few dead-ends. It helps that this is, unfortunately, based on a true story.

The people behind the show, not surprisingly mostly women, have done a very good job of handling a sensitive subject. Creative-director Susannah Grant, executive producer Sarah Timberman and executive producer/director Lisa Cholodenko get all aspects of the show, including the casting, right.

There is light at the end of this tunnel with some form of justice served. For Marie, it’s a case of better late than never. But having witnessed this journey, the audience will understand how easily one can lose their way in the dark before we even reach the end. As Merritt Wever’s character points out that even in this case it was a stroke of luck which gives them a breakthrough. They could easily have spent months on the case eventually leaving it cold with no redemption for the victims.

At the beginning of the show, we see the police, and then others in the society, not believing a girl who says that she was sexually assaulted. Later, in another case of a girl almost being assaulted, we see cops not taking the investigation seriously enough to search the backyard thoroughly for clues – where the knife used by the person who broke in is accidentally found months later. There is a statistic our detectives discover while they are working on the case – police officers, who are meant to protect the people, abuse their partners at a rate of 2 to 4 times than Americans in general. Now, all of this sounds unbelievable. But believe because just like Marie’s story – it is the truth. Do watch this show if you haven’t yet – it may make you uncomfortable but is necessary.

 

 

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