Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
TV

Casting JonBenet: Are we in a post-true crime TV era?

Casting JonBenet director Kitty Green on examining our relationship with public tragedy

Casting JonBenet

Casting JonBenet, written and directed by Kitty Green, offers a new angle on the most famous cold case in recent American history. Six-year-old child beauty pageant queen JonBenet Ramsey was found murdered at her home in Boulder, Colorado, on Boxing Day in 1996, sparking a huge investigation and wild public speculation, with suspects ranging from family members to local police and a professional Santa Claus impersonator.

Rather than revealing new evidence or aiming to solve the case, Green’s documentary examines our relationship with public tragedy. She asks local actors to audition to play the Ramsey family in a never-to-be-made film, and through the audition process, hears their theories on the case, before, crucially, teasing out the personal tragedies that exist in the shadow of a more famous, public tragedy.

Nobody really knew what happened yet there were all these fictional narratives bandied about

“There’s definitely been a trend towards true crime,” says Green. “But now it feels like we are moving beyond it. We could be post-true crime. Our role has to be to analyse things from all angles, to show the contradictions and the paradoxes. It is just propaganda if you have one idea and your conclusion before you start.

“We set out to make a film about some of the narratives people tell in order to deal with something they can’t understand, like the death of a child, which is incomprehensible. Nobody really knew what happened yet there were all these fictional narratives bandied about.

“I’d ask about Patsy Ramsey [JonBenet’s mother] and people would tell me about their own mother. It was fascinating how quickly and easily they opened up – about issues from sexual abuse to domestic violence.

“The film is out when everyone is questioning fact and fake news. If we’re not going to know who killed JonBenet, hopefully we can have closure in some other way.”

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

Casting JonBenet is on Netflix

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

How many kids, Keir?

Ask the PM to tell us how many kids he'll get out of poverty
Image of two parents holding two small children, facing away from the camera

Recommended for you

View all
Gavin & Stacey star Joanna Page: 'I didn't feel safe at drama school – we were told we were s**t'
Letter To My Younger Self

Gavin & Stacey star Joanna Page: 'I didn't feel safe at drama school – we were told we were s**t'

'I fully expect we'll be performing at Glastonbury': Tamsin Greig on new punk drama Riot Women
The lead cast of Riot Women - BBC drama
TV

'I fully expect we'll be performing at Glastonbury': Tamsin Greig on new punk drama Riot Women

'I hope it's a worthy successor to Happy Valley': Sally Wainwright on menopause and new show Riot Women
TV

'I hope it's a worthy successor to Happy Valley': Sally Wainwright on menopause and new show Riot Women

Why 'noodle dramas' like The Guest are just as enjoyable as 'caviar dramas' like Slow Horses
TV

Why 'noodle dramas' like The Guest are just as enjoyable as 'caviar dramas' like Slow Horses