Erase from your memory everything you remember about the case of Amanda Knox, if you recall anything. It will be difficult for your mind not to retain some trace of a case that shocked public opinion: the murder of Meredith Kercher, the arrest of Amanda Knox, the first trial where she was convicted, the second where she was exonerated, and everything surrounding an investigation in which, among many other things, Amanda Knox was portrayed as a "slut," "sex addict," "an American witch, who was even said to have HIV after erroneous blood tests, who allegedly convinced two men (Raffaele and Patrick) to kill Meredith after an orgy, so many things were published...
None of what was written or said back then was true. Not even the DNA evidence that convinced the Italian justice system that Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito killed Meredith. Now, almost 15 years after Knox and Sollecito were acquitted by the appeals court and later by the Italian Supreme Court, the time for reparation has come. Because if the victim of that terrible case was undoubtedly Meredith Kercher, who died with her that night in 2007 at the house on Via della Pergola in Perugia was Amanda.
Amanda Knox: A Twisted Tale is the new series on Disney+, premiering on August 20, where if the viewer expects the macabre details of a case that filled pages of national and international press for years, they better sit tight. The Disney+ series, produced by 20th Television in association with The Littlefield Company, tells the story of Amanda Knox from when she decided to travel to Italy to see the world until the Perugia court exonerated her after four years in prison.
The miniseries is inspired by the story of how Amanda Knox was unjustly convicted of her roommate Meredith Kercher's tragic murder and her fight to prove her innocence. It is unknown if many of the things recounted in the series actually happened, if Knox returned to Italy to meet the prosecutor who accused her and subjected her to torture to obtain what he believed from the beginning, without concrete evidence: that Amanda Knox was a murderer, a manipulator, a witch, a monster to be hunted down. Yes, it is a twisted tale, where the producers (Amanda herself and Mónica Lewinsky) manage to make the viewer experience firsthand the anguish, fear, pain, confusion, and distress of both Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, her partner at the time of Meredith's murder.
Generally, true crime and crime series focus on the murder, the victim, or the investigation. In the case of Amanda Knox: A Twisted Tale, the focus of the six episodes that make up the series - and that Disney+ will release weekly - is what Amanda Knox experienced, it is Amanda's reparation, because during the eight years of the case until the appeals court exonerated them, everything that could be said was said. Stories were invented, evidence was manipulated, even the diary she wrote in prison was stolen, but her story, the one only she knows because only she lived it, had never been brought to fiction. Stirring up the past? In Amanda Knox's case, perhaps it was necessary.
On the night of November 1, 2007, American Amanda Knox, who was studying in Perugia, called the police after finding her roommate Meredith Kercher's room locked, small traces of blood in the bathroom, and biological evidence in the toilet. Throughout several trials, Knox and Sollecito were convicted and later acquitted. In 2015, the Italian Court of Cassation definitively overturned their murder convictions.
Sensationalist media coverage and inconsistencies in the investigation drew public attention, while Italian authorities focused their suspicions on Knox and Sollecito due to their apparent lack of emotions regarding the events. The Perugia prosecutor and investigators' initial suspicions about Amanda Knox were precisely because she did not appear shocked, scared, or devastated by Kercher's death. The hugs and kisses exchanged by the couple during the house search were used to convince the public that Knox was a cruel criminal.
That was the seed of an inquiry and investigation that left much to be desired and is shown in the series without holding back. Interrogations where language was used to confuse Amanda, pressures, numerous police officers surrounding Knox shouting in two languages, hitting her on the head, on the table, not allowing her to use the restroom despite menstruating, hours without sleep, without food, until Amanda Knox said what they wanted to hear, that on the night of the crime Patrick Lumumba, her former boss, went to the house on Via della Pergola. They did not allow Amanda Knox to correct or make another statement.
For them, Amanda was the guilty one, the mastermind who ordered Lumumba and Sollecito to kill and violate Meredith. Neither Lumumba, nor Sollecito, nor Knox were at the house that night. There was only one person, whose DNA was everywhere, Rudy Guede, but a clever lawyer subjected him to a quick trial where he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Guede did not receive a fraction of the media attention that Amanda did. Any detail about Knox was fair game for crucifying her: her nickname on Facebook, Foxy Knoxy, the vibrator found during the room search that her friends had given her before traveling to Italy, the list of guys she had been with in Italy (seven), even her smile or glances during the trial with Sollecito.
According to the prosecution's final argument in the first trial, "Rudy Guede sexually assaulted Meredith Kercher; Sollecito strangled and stabbed her on Knox's orders; and Amanda delivered the fatal stab." Amanda and Raffaele spent four years in prison after being sentenced to 26 and 25 years, respectively. How was this possible? Due to contaminated DNA evidence, a laboratory that did not comply with international protocols, and once again, an investigation that put the Italian justice system in the spotlight. However, never to the extent that Knox was vilified. Amanda Knox: A Twisted Tale delves into each overlooked aspect or those seen from afar. Redemption? Probably, but the redemption of an injustice is what the fiction aims to show. In fact, the series has not only Amanda Knox but also Mónica Lewinsky as executive producers.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, KJ Steinberg, creator and also producer of the series, talked about his collaborators on the project. "Monica Lewinsky and Amanda Knox partnered on this before they contacted me," he explained. "And I have a deep respect for both, and obviously, they share some common trauma. What I see in common is that they are both extraordinary, brilliant, resilient women, and in my opinion, quite miraculous. I don't know if I could have survived what they went through. And both are very cheerful people, despite everything, and very committed to changing the corrupt way we view, I believe, especially young women in the media."
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Knox revealed that she was originally not interested in selling the rights to her story, even though a documentary had already been made about the case. However, everything changed when Lewinsky, whom Knox refers to as a member of the "bad reputation sisterhood", called her.
"In this story, real human beings—me, but also my roommate Meredith, my boyfriend Raffaele, and even the prosecutor Giuliano Mignini—were belittled. We were pigeonholed and judged based on the labels placed on us. This series truly seeks to break those molds. We don't have to limit ourselves to black-and-white narratives when thinking about tragedies. And I think that's very helpful in a time when people isolate themselves and can't find common ground. This story serves as a warning in that regard," Knox said.
Actress Grace Van Patten, known for her role as Lucy in Tell Me Lies, plays Knox in this new take on the case. The actress's strong resemblance to the real Amanda Knox and Van Patten's ability to almost perfectly replicate Knox's mannerisms, which were seen so often on television, are striking. Despite her final acquittal, Amanda Knox continues to be the subject of media and public scrutiny due to the complexity of the case.