The Strange Case of Michelle Carter has been better suited for a documentary than drama, because "The Girl from Plainville"—Hulu's stark, additional eight-episode series—despite Elle Fanning's reassuring portrayal, is too ingrained and clumsy. It is proved. Of the central player in the "texting suicide" case.
Described by New York magazine reporter Marin Kogan as "an entirely modern romance ... conducted almost entirely online", from a theatrical standpoint represented a major obstacle for the producers, as the two met only a few times. Were. They grapple with that digital divide by portraying their many text exchanges, which amount to personal conversation, an understandable theatrical device that nonetheless seems as though it blurs the contours of the relationship.
The story hinges on the death of Conrad "Coco" Roy III (Colton Ryan), who took his own life after Carter (Fanning) instigated him to do so. Later, he offered inconsistent stories about what happened, which ultimately resulted in his trial and conviction on charges of involuntary manslaughter.
The star-crossed romance thus depicts the struggles of these troubled teens, but in a way that blunts the impact of the drama. More sober than the made-for-lifetime underpinnings, the fantasy fights and what-ifs in the presentation don't quite work, though well-intentioned.
Indeed, both Carter and Roy (or Coco, as their family called them) turn out to be enigmatic figures, failing to provide much information about what tickled either of them. It's not the stars' fault in this. Fanning captured Carter's distant, haunting quality, including his preoccupation with the show "Glee" and identification with the character of Lea Michele and the tragic death of co-star Cory Monteith.
Perhaps due to the nature of children, the focus is geared toward families. Carter's father is surprised as he overhears Roy talking ("You never talked about him. We never even heard his name," he says at one point), while Roy's distraught mother (Chloe Sevigny) ) is clearly confused as the one described by Mitchell. Gorgeous romance. She is also mindful of how Carter is feeding the attention and sympathy associated with being known to her son as the grieving girlfriend.
Hulu has enjoyed a solid run of late with fact-based limited series (see "The Dropout" and "Pam and Tommy") featuring young white women in very different circumstances, and an appetite for true crime. The turning point of puberty - especially with this kind of mod - seems to be too closely extinguished.
Still, viewers apparently turned away from watching it with a better understanding of Carter's story from the HBO documentary "I Love You, Now Die." Truth may be stranger than fiction, but in this case, non-fiction illuminates much more than drama.
"The Girl From Plainville" premieres March 29 on Hulu.