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Post by FilmFlaneur on Apr 13, 2018 10:05:57 GMT
Manhunt: Unabomber
Coming soon after a viewing of David Fincher's Netflix series Mindhunter , watching the Unabomber drama was like being on familiar ground : that of the reluctant, but ultimately triumphant development of a strand of criminal profiling by US law enforcement in the face of terrible crimes. Manhunt is the true story of the hunt for perhaps the most infamous criminal of his type in American history and, while not as dark as Fincher's work, is still well worth a watch. For those who don't know, the Unabomber was the name given (because he notably attacked university and airport targets) to a serial bomber who operated, despite the best efforts of the authorities, between 1978 and 1995. Playing the criminal is Paul Bettany, giving a subtle performance, pitched at just the right level of intellectual arrogance, alienation and pity. Pitched against him is Sam Worthington's FBI guy working against the prejudices of his own department as much as his own personal demons. Bettany's part in the series grows as the narrative proceeds until the Unabomber's tortured psyche becomes almost as significant as the horrific events themselves, in a programme that has been called (by one of the original investigating team) "80 per cent accurate". At the heart of it all is the growth and testing of what is called 'forensic linguistics', a nascent investigatory science which, at the end proved as conclusive as finger prints. It is rare that reading comprehension is made so tense, or so exciting. The result is a compelling series which can be recommended. Apparently there is an earlier drama based on the Unabomber case (Unabomber: The True Story (1996)) with Dean Stockwell. Has anyone seen this?
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Post by Sulla on Jul 2, 2018 6:45:43 GMT
I enjoyed it very much. I didn't intend to watch it, but saw the first episode and became hooked. What surprised me was how little attention it received. It was ignored by the Emmys and I found very few posters on this site who had watched it. Maybe the lack of interest is because some weren't born yet or don't remember the events when they happened. And maybe other people don't find linguistic forensics interesting. My favorite episode was the one which depicted his youthful influences and experiences. What fascinates me about Kaczynski is how he eluded capture and had the FBI completely baffled for so many years. But I realize the hardest criminal to catch is the lone wolf, especially one off the grid with such a high IQ. In a desperate move which paid off, they had to rely on the slim chance of someone recognizing his writing. The man was operating at genius level. It's too bad he felt he had to resort to violence to get his message across.
I don't think I've seen the 1996 movie on this subject.
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