The Girl Who Killed Her Parents (2021) Movie Review – A entertaining but rushed true-crime dramatization

The Murder of the Von Richthofens

The Girl Who Killed Her Parents is a thriller directed by Mauricio Eça. It stars Carla Diaz, Leonardo Bittencourt, and Augusto Madeira, and it’s based on the true story of the murders of Manfred Albert and Marisia von Richthofen by their daughter Suzane von Richthofen. She was assisted by her boyfriend, Daniel Cravinhos, and his brother, Christian Cravinhos. 

The movie gets straight into proceedings with the night of the incident taking place, and then we get a glimpse at the trial, but then it flashes back to tell the story from the start. The events took place in Brazil. It shocked the nation when it happened, and as a viewer, it’s worth going into it knowing nothing in order to fully grasp the shocking nature of the case. A lot of the themes in this story are about the massive divide in the class system and how this can breed contempt. The Cravinhos were very wealthy, and the von Richthofen’s were more middle class. The contempt comes from Suzane’s family, towards the wealthier clan. 

There is a lot of back-and-forth in the movie between the events before the murder and the trial itself, which can be quite distracting, especially as it’s not exactly a long film. A linear narrative might have suited it better, but it’s still a gripping storyline nevertheless. Both sides receive fair representation, and the movie is very keen to not pass judgement or take sides. 

Overall, it’s a decent watch, but a documentary series might have done the story more justice than this dramatization, which does feel a bit rushed, with the eventual verdict being brushed aside as a footnote. 

  • Verdict - 7/10
    7/10
7/10

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