Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy (2011)

It was a case that grabbed the headlines: in 2007, a British student was found murdered in her flat in the Italian city of Perugia. Two early suspects were her American roommate, Amanda Knox, and Amanda’s Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito. What followed was years of interrogation, allegations and multiple trials that catapulted Amanda into the media limelight.

Amanda Knox was just 20 when the murder took place. When she was interrogated, she was obliged to explain her behaviour to police and prosecutors in a mixture of English and Italian, a language she didn’t speak or understand fluently. In the subsequent media circus, she depicted as a cold, unfeeling femme fatale, and given nicknames including “Foxy Knoxy”.

The movie depicts these events, as well as the first murder trial that tried to uncover the truth. The outcome, and subsequent court cases, are well known, but it’s fascinating to see the chain of events that ultimately put the Italian justice system itself on trial.

Amanda Knox is played by Hayden Panettiere (Nashville), while her mother is played by Marcia Gay Harden (The Newsroom).