The Women and the Murderer – Netflix Review (4/5)

THE WOMEN AND THE MURDERER on Netflix is a true crime documentary from France. The topic is serial killer Guy Georges and the hunt for him. Fortunately, much time is also dedicated to his victims. Read our full The Women and the Murderer review here!

THE WOMEN AND THE MURDERER is a new Netflix documentary from France. We’re in the true-crime department and the subject is the hunt for a serial killer that took far too many lives in Paris in the 1990s.

WANT MORE TRUE CRIME?

Check out the true-crime tag on Heaven of Horror here >

Without spoiling too much (because it’s literally in the plot description), the serial killer is Guy Georges. Personally, I was very happy that this Netflix documentary also focused a lot on the victims as well as the families of the victims. It all comes very naturally since they ended up being quite involved.

Continue reading our The Women and the Murderer review below and check out the 92-minute documentary on Netflix now!

Women on a mission

The title of this Netflix documentary refers to the women involved with this case in many ways. Not so much in terms of the victims, though. Instead, the “women” in The Women and the Murderer has to do with the fact that women were in charge of virtually all elements of this case.

A female police detective was in charge of the case (one of the first female police officers working at this level in France). Also, a female crime reporter played a key part as did the mothers of several victims. One in particular, who follows the case for years and has to see more victims appear before they can identify the killer.

Also, everyone involved with the case struggle with issues such as lack of a DNA database and the downright failure to accept that serial killers do exist outside the USA. Oh yeah, as if there wasn’t enough to struggle with, the female detective on the case also had to hear: “We don’t have serial killers in France!”

Obstacle after obstacle

So many obstacles along the years are illustrated simply and poignantly. Even the tragic death of Princess Diana of Wales plays a part in the case. Obviously, when she is tragically killed in a car crash in Paris, the police are required to dedicate resources to this case. However, that also meant taking resources from other cases.

Including this case trying to identify a very active serial killer.

And just wait until it’s revealed how DNA was used to ultimately find him. It’s a very old school and manual process. For these murders, there was DNA at most of the crime scenes. However, the police had no way of comparing this DNA on a wider scale. Fortunately, the hunt for Guy Georges ultimately also lead to a DNA database being established in France.

Finally, even more women become part of this case as the prosecutor is a woman and the assistant defender as well. Both women tell fascinating stories from each side of the case. Ultimately, they see things very much eye to eye!

Watch The Women and the Murderer on Netflix now!

Finally, I am sure it will come as no surprise that the directors behind this documentary are also women. Mona Achache and Patricia Tourancheau co-directed The Women and the Murderers. Both have extensive experience in filmmaking but not necessarily in documentary or true crime. For example, Mona Achache directed a few episodes of the Netflix series Osmosis.

However, Patricia Tourancheau did work on the Netflix docu-series Who Killed Little Gregory? As a writer though, and this time she’s the director.

YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT

Our review of the French Netflix true-crime documentary series Who Killed Little Gregory? here >

The Women and the Murderer is definitely one of the better true crime documentaries I’ve watched over the years. Both due to the focus on the victims, their families, the press, police detective, prosecutor, and defender. All women working on the same case in various capacities.

For once, I almost wanted this true-crime documentary to go on even longer. However, instead of the constant teasers for what you’ll see next (whether in the next episode or segment), we get a solidly crafted and complete documentary in just 1 hour and 32 minutes. Impressive and very much worth watching. Do not miss this one!

The Women and the Murderer is out on Netflix worldwide from September 9, 2021.

Details

Directors: Mona Achache, Patricia Tourancheau
Release date: September 9, 2021, on Netflix