HBO’s new series entitled I’ll Be Gone In The Dark is based on Michelle McNamara’s book. The documentary series is about her hunt for a killer, and the women who refused to be broken by him.
McNamara had long been engrossed by darkness. She has been ever since her neighbor Kathleen Lombardo was murdered just a few blocks from her home in Illinois, in 1984.
She became obsessed as an adult with a largely unknown figure she called the Golden State Killer. He was a serial killer/rapist who was suspected of committing 12 murders, 50 rapes, and 100 burglaries in California across the 70s and 80s.
1. Release Date & Highlights
I’ll Be Gone In The Dark premieres Sunday, June 28 on HBO. The series has been directed by Academy Award nominee and Emmy winning director Liz Garbus. The show is a mix of memoir and true crime.
McNamara’s book proved to be so powerful that HBO acquired the rights even before publication. The streaming site started work on a series based on it soon after and turned it into a six-part series.
2. Theory section
In the spirit of McNamara’s work, the series draws deeply on interviews with survivors and detectives. They discuss the trauma the Golden State Killer caused. This occurred during a time when victims of sexual assault often stayed silent out of shame.
The series uses McNamara’s own words to explain her obsession with the Golden State Killer’s case and its eventual psychological toll on her. McNamara died of an accidental overdose in 2016, right before she finished the book.
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark also shows McNamara was an empathetic listener and an insightful interviewer. Each episode is guided by McNamara’s own voice, brought through recorded voice memos, podcast episodes, voicemails, and various readings.
McNamara’s book balances two plotlines. Director Garbus juggled three, adding McNamara’s premature death and the resolution of her life’s work. As a result, the new six-episode miniseries feels more expansive than your average true-crime documentary.
3. Trailer
HBO released a trailer for the documentary series based on McNamara’s book posthumously published with the help of true-crime writer Billy Jensen, who had been working alongside her.
The trailer depicts macabre stories of the deaths the Golden State Killer had previously caused. It also holds the victims stories of assault, rape and sexual abuse. The Golden State Killer was also known as former United States Navy veteran Joseph DeAngelo. He was caught in April 2018 based on DNA evidence.
The trailer and teaser also gives viewers a perspective into the psyche of McNamara as she graduated from writing a blog no one had heard of to a best-selling book about the horrors of his crimes. A third person’s narrative can be seen in the depiction of the ongoing trial.
4. Key Visuals
Perhaps the most used visual is a picture of McNamara, strewn across reviewing sites. Important visuals through the trailer that recur with the viewers is that of blood-spattered, overturned crime scenes and harrowed victims as they recount their stories.
There are also shots of DeAngelo’s trial that help push the story into a much more realistic terrain. Pictures of victims’ bruising and shots of the police inspecting a crime scene also fill the trailer.
McNamara’s ability to draw a face to a relatively unknown killer at the time is important in the teaser. Her dedication towards catching the killer and thorough research in areas she previously had no expertise is admirable.
5. Expected Storyline
The plot would revolve around the grotesque tales of abuse, assault, rape, and murder that DeAngelo had committed, led on by the voices of its victims. McNamara isn’t forgotten either; she is routinely shown through video footage and/or voice notes.
The examination of crime scenes by the police over the years, as collected by McNamara, is also shown. Garbus simultaneously gives importance to the ongoing trial of the criminal, who was eventually charged with eight counts of first-degree murder and pled guilty to avoid a death sentence.
6. Staff/Crew
- Director: Liz Garbus, Myles Kane, Josh Coury, Elizabeth Wolff
- Writer: Michelle McNamara
- Producers: Nancy Ambraham, Kate Barry, Lliz Garbus, Paul Haynes, Lisa Heller, Billy Jensen, Miles Kane, Josh Koury, Dave Rath, Elizabeth Wolff
- Original network: HBO
- Cinematography: Thorsten Thielow
- Music direction: Phillip Sheppard
- Art direction: Noah Dunlap, Clark Parkan, John Posca, Courtney Smith
- Visual effects: Matthew Brunson-Cline
- Film editing: Sam Nalband
- Production design: Susan Alegria, Amber Unkle
7. Cast
- Paul Hanes as self
- Amy Ryan as self
- Patton Oswalt as self
- Billy Jensen as self
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