Yahoo News Unbelievable: What Marie Adler really thought about the Netflix show
Netflix’s Unbelievable is one of this year’s must-watch shows. An unflinching deep-dive into injustice and rape culture, the miniseries explores the true story of Marie Adler (played by Kaitlyn Dever) who was brutally raped in her home as a teenager.
Rather than flocking to her aid, those in positions of authority – the initial detectives assigned to the case and a number of Marie’s foster parents – question her version of events.
Facing gaslighting and doubt from all corners, Marie retracts her statement, only to face charges herself which could have resulted in a year-long jail sentence.
The eight-episode crime drama is based upon The Marshall Project and ProPublica's 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning article An Unbelievable Story of Rape, by reporters Ken Armstrong and T Christian Miller.
This went on to form the basis of a book, A False Report: A True Story of Rape in America published in 2018, and was explored in an episode of the This American Life podcast.
Every detail of Netflix's dramatisation is rooted in truth, from the account of the culprit's physical appearance to the settlement handed to Marie as a result of the suffering she had endured.
Even the gratitude Marie felt towards Detectives Duvall and Rasmussen (in real life, Stacy Galbraith and Edna Hendershot) was expressed with authenticity.
In the final episode, we see Marie make a heart-wrenching phone call to Duvall, thanking her for hunting down the culprit and giving her hope.
"More than him getting locked up, more than the money I got, it was hearing that about you guys that changed things completely," the character told the detective. "I wake up now and I can imagine good things happening."
While we do not know whether this exchange unfolded word-for-word, Marie’s reaction to the show reflects the sentiment of the conversation and the gratitude she felt towards the detectives for bringing justice to the situation.
The real-life Marie gave permission to co-writer Armstrong to publish a series of tweets detailing her thoughts on Netflix’s iteration of events.
"Watching it was hard, she said. 'I did cry quite a bit,' she said. But she had decided she wanted to and was glad that she did. She called the show 'excellent'," Armstrong wrote.
The survivor went on to praise Dever’s portrayal of her, with one impactful scene that particularly resonated.
"She brought up one scene in particular in the first episode, in which she's confronted by police and recants," continued Armstrong.
"Marie has told me before that it can be a struggle for her to put her feelings and thoughts into words. In that scene, she said, Kaitlyn Dever captured her struggle. 'It was, like, perfect', she said."
For Marie and viewers alike, seeing the culprit sentenced to 327 and a half years and the victims brought to justice offered a comforting conclusion to an otherwise horrific ordeal. It offered hope for the future.
"For Marie, watching the work of the detectives in Colorado, 1,300 miles from where she had been attacked, reinforced a sense she'd had since first she learned about them: 'I felt like they were my guardian angels, looking out for me'.
"And watching the last episode, watching the re-creation of the Colorado detectives closing in, provided Marie something she didn't expect. 'Seeing him get put away, that was closure for me', she said."
Ultimately, Marie’s determination to carry on against the toughest of odds provides Unbelievable its impact, proving to other victims across the world that justice does happen and survival is possible.
In a follow-up interview, showrunner Susannah Grant revealed she’s pleased the show has inspired a conversation, let alone offered solace to those involved in the case.
"If you look at the statistics around sexual assault, somewhere between five and 20 percent of sexual assaults are reported and of those, the number that gets prosecuted is somewhere around five percent," she told Entertainment Weekly.
"So you’re talking about a crime that is absolutely devastating and massively under-addressed. So bringing that issue out of the dark shadows of our culture and pulling it into the light is really important."
Unbelievable is available to stream on Netflix now. You can read the full award-winning article An Unbelievable Story of Rape here.
Rape Crisis England and Wales works towards the elimination of all forms of sexual violence and sexual misconduct. If you’ve been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can access more information on their website or by calling the National Rape Crisis Helpline on 0808 802 9999. Rape Crisis Scotland’s helpline number is 08088 01 03 02.
Readers in the US are encouraged to contact RAINN, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800-656-4673.
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