The movie “Stillwater” that shown on M6 on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. It is loosely based on a compelling news event with many turns and turns, starring Matt Damon and Camille Cottin.
There is a good chance that viewers will vaguely recognize the plot of Stillwater, broadcast on M6 this Tuesday April 23 at 9:10 p.m. A former American driller named Bill Baker’s daughter receives a nine-year prison sentence for a crime she denies committing in this thriller, which debuted at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. With the assistance of an actress he happened to meet, he then travels to Marseille, the location of the a terrible accident, to establish the young woman’s innocence.
Directed by Tom McCarthy (Spotlight), Stillwater brings together movie stars in the cast, namely Matt Damon in the leading role, who plays opposite Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) and Frenchwoman Camille Cottin (Ten Percent). To write the script for this film which questions cultural differences, he drew inspiration very freely from a real news item which hit the headlines in 2007: the Amanda Knox affair.
At that time, the 20-year-old American student was accused of killing her roommate, Meredith Kercher, who was found dead in the bathroom of the apartment they shared in Perugia, Italy. Amanda Knox continues to proclaim her innocence, but she is still found guilty at first instance and sentenced to 25 years in prison. But four years later, in 2011, she was finally acquitted on appeal, due to lack of sufficient evidence.
“I have a lot of empathy for Amanda”
Despite “an important errors” in the inquiry, the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation ultimately released her in 2015. Following the murder, Rudy Guede, a burglar, was apprehended and convicted. On November 23, 2021, after serving a 16-year prison sentence, he was granted permanent freedom. He did, however, imply at the time that Amanda Knox might have been complicit in the murder.
It’s not hidden that Tom McCarthy derived inspiration for the writing for Stillwater from the Amanda Knox story. The primary audience for the film was not impressed, and the director addressed this in an interview with Variety, saying that while he “had a lot of empathy for Amanda and what she experienced, from what she said, she has not seen the film Stillwater is fictional, and does not reflect her personal experience.” This response included the “invented” characters as well as the overall plot.
