User Reviews

I felt incredible sadness for the family of Sophie, and also the betrayal by the judicial system in Ireland. From the DPP who wouldn't prosecute and dismissed domestic violence as "one of those things that happen", to the incompetence and corruption of the Gardia, and even the attitude of the Coroner who didn't arrive on the murder scene until days later. Maybe the murder of a woman didn't warrant a speedy response. Also, the self serving 'key witness' who was out with her ex-boyfriend that night, but felt her own welfare came above the murder of an innocent woman when it came to her conflicting statements. I found the partner of Ian Bailey blinded by the extreme violence and abuse suffered at the hands of the 'poet' and maybe if she hadn't stuck by him for so long, justice would have been served. Mostly, I found the egotistical, angry, self indulgence of Ian Bailey the hardest thing to stomach. Here we have a violent man, with extreme sexual fantasies, lying to the audience in a vain attempt to attract pity. Where is the justice for Sophie, and how can a community life with such a man?

This documentary was overall well done, clearly exposing the person who committed the murder of Sophie Toscan Du Plantier. It was very helpful to include her family in the interviews.

There were several missing aspects to the story that I wish were included. First, it would have been helpful to have interviewed Jules. However my guess is that she was intimidated by the suspect and feared retribution.

Secondly, interviewing the forensic pathologist who did the autopsy would also have been helpful. What were the specific findings? Did they collect samples from the perineum, the mouth, the fingernails, etc.? Did they save the clothing she wore that night? DNA profiling was first used in 1987 in Florida. Surely the pathologist was aware of that forensic test even if they weren't using it. By saving clothing, etc., the testing could've been done later.

Lastly, how was the crime scene managed? Did they cordon off the path to the the house as well as the house itself? Did they look through out the house, looking for stains, hairs, finger prints and use Luminol to document the presence of blood inside? Did they check in detail the thorny bush for blood??? So many unanswered questions.

Locard's Principle used in forensic studies states, 'everything leaves a trace'. Was this the exception to that rule?? A miscarriage of justice for Sophie and her family.

Who killed the beautiful Sophie Toscan du Plantier, a hugely talented Frenchwoman, who sadly died in Cork in 1996.

Netflix do this kind of documentary series very well, this is another strong example. A very sad story, one that seems to continue, the famous Bailey case.

You get the background, the area, the scene, the crime, the suspect, and a resolution.....of sorts.

It could have been told over two episodes, it's true it is a little dragged out in parts, but it's a very intriguing story.

Some think the answers are black and white, and obvious, I'm perhaps a little more sceptical, give it a watch, and see what you think.

Very watchable, 7/10.

Netflix new thing is dragging out a 20min criminal storyline into 3h of nature videos and circulating the same 15 photos of the victim.

It's a real story, well made but still mysterious.

This is a Story of a lady who was murdered in suspicious circumstances in Ireland where no murder was reported since last 100 years. To the point seriers (Only 3 episodes) not at all dragged.

I just binged watch for few minutes and could not stop myself by watching all the episodes in one go.

Go for it without any doubt without reading about it, you wouldn't regret.

An excellent example of police incompetence coupled with the tendency for male-oriented power structures to protect men guilty of crimes against women. The documentary was generally well done (with one major flaw). The outcome was depressing. Sadly, people don't understand or recognize mental illness. That was the flaw in the series, as the accused's mental illness was plain for many in the audience to see, yet it was never addressed in any way. I will never see Ireland quite the same way.

This seems a French way of filming. Dragging a short story long, with beautiful Irish scenes and many characters giving their serious views and impressions. As others already wrote, there is not much forensic evidence in this crime story. It is hard to believe that the pathologist(s) were not able to bring more information and that there is basically only one suspect, and a series of witnesses that change their statements over time. A very thin story. Having said this, it is worthwhile seeing it. It is also interesting that the Irish court was not able to convict the suspect while the French court was.

Very slow flow with limited pictures and videos. However, it is interesting and so sad due to case is real and hurting people.

First and foremost, my heart goes out to the victim's family. To wait for decades for justice to be served is not just sad for the family but also for the countries that couldn't close the case.

I think this was a well made documentary that could've been finished in 2:30 hours. I didn't quite understand and relate to the woman who was Sophie but her murder was brutal and the killer is at large. I liked that the accused is given ample screen to put forth his view as much as the family and town people are given to make the case.

All that said, this isn't a staple Netflix true crime documentary where shocks and twists leave you in awe. There are a couple of twists and that's all. The Irish town is well shot and there are some news reel footage but very little to none about victim. After first episode her face starts to fade away from your memory and your whole focus shifts towards the accused.

In the end, you can watch it when you have nothing else to watch but I won't be recommending this to my friends.

Another Netflix crime documentary. This time we had the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, a famous French person who was murdered in West Cork, a small town in Ireland.

The first two episodes of the show was pretty boring. It was slow and dragging like many other Netflix documentaries. Because of this, I didn't care much about the progression of the story.

However, the last episode became more interesting and got my attention, despite having the longest runtime. There was a lot of back and forth between the accused and the family of Sophie. Also different sides got involved and pulled the story forward.

Overall, it's a mildly interesting crime documentary. 6/10.

Thought the documentary was very well done...compelling & interesting....plus when you get the actual possible prime suspect being so often interviewed then this is really important.

Feel for Sophie's son & hopefully one day he'll & we'll learn the truth. It was probably Netflix's intention, but it throws up more questions than answers plus some major points seem to be missing

(a) the oft reported mysterious blue Ford car seen speeding that morning was never followed up?

(b) apparently Sophie's concerns with some local drug dealers (cannabis growers) were never investigated?

(c) how can a gate go missing???

(d) because of the Garda's general incompetence it seems that it could be a cover up at a high level?

(e) Why was the guy in the car with Marie Farrell never interviewed as a prime witness...to this day we don't even know who the person was? This makes surely the whole investigation a joke?

(f) Isn't it a little too obvious & easy that Bailey was/is the prime suspect...it looks like a set-up to off load the blame from the real culprit? Also, he has the courage to be interviewed whereas most prime suspects run for cover. Probably crazy but just can't image a poet & a journalist who uses a typewriter doing such a brutal murder

(g) It would have taken Bailey at least a good 90 minutes in a sober state to walk there from his own home (seen walking on the Kealfadda bridge)...but seemingly they (Bailey & Jules) had a car anyway? Really we should rule out anything that Marie Farrell said.

(h) If Bailey was having an affair with Sophie then could Jules Thomas be somehow a suspect (jealousy?)?

(i) It was an absolute joke that there was no actual photographs taken of Bailey's scratches & head injury? In any case surely the murderer wore gloves & that is why no fingerprints were found & so how therefore did the hands get scratched through gloves & why does it matter?

(j) Why was Sophie's body found so far from the house front door? How did she get there or come to be there...wearing a nightdress but boots? Were there at least 2 people involved in her murder? No matter how crazy all possible scenarios to possibly achieve this brutal murder then they all should have been re-enacted?

(k) Why would someone show such violence against Sophie...what possible motif could have made anyone do this?

(l) It was not explained clearly why the hitman scenario was dismissed? Because there were seemingly (unbelievably) no clues left behind then maybe it was performed by a professional(s) rather than an amateur (even if cleverly disguised to look amateurish).

(m) Why was the coroner so late in arriving (reasons for the delay...Xmas should not be an excuse for anyone that has just been murdered)...maybe an interview with the actual coroner would have been helpful?

(n) An interview with the actual clairvoyant medium, that predicted Sophie's life span would be short, may have been helpful?

(o) There seemingly was a second DNA type sample found, but no match was ever found relating to anyone? More should have been mentioned on this?

(p) Further to the unknown hitman, Bailey & Garda theories, then could the murderer be someone else? This idea was never followed?

(q) who from the Garda is accountable for this failure to find the truth?

This documentary should stimulate some further action on this case & so at least a 9 to Netflix for attempting this.

It would be very good also if Netflix could undertake a similar documentary for the disappearance/murder of Tony Jones (possibly took place on the 3rd November 1982) in Queensland. This is still an unresolved cold case nearly 40 years later & still causing Tony's family huge pain & grief.

Good documentary on the 1996 murder of Sophie in west cork Ireland and the subsequent investigation. The interviews were relevant and the story had good flow. A good balance between the suspect, the investigators, and Sophie's family.

Good overview of a story I remember from all those years ago (I'm Irish). The pain of sophie's family is harrowing, the limitations of evidence frustrating, all that's left is gut human instinct of who is really telling the truth?

It is hard to follow the story since it wants to be an interesting documentary, so director wanted to keep the tension by changing the characters in every 10 seconds, speaking in different languages. Really I didn't know when to listen when to read. It is a pity.

I really wanted to like this more, but it's two quarts of plot in a five gallon pot.

I should say up front that the cinematography is gorgeous, the soundtrack and music are expertly done, it has all the current tropes of a streaming documentary (though perhaps a bit too much use of the interview gimmick where the subject stares silently into the camera as their voiceover plays on the soundtrack), and within the first fifteen minutes I wanted to visit Schull; after the first hour I wanted to live there.

That said, stretching this documentary out to about three hours of episodes seems more like a contract fulfillment than a need to tell a long story. There are very few cliffhangers; and while Episode 1 ends on a suitably Wow note, the story sort of bumbles along after that, mindful of the need to have long, gorgeous shots of scenery in between interviews so as to not reach present day too quickly.

While the case is practically entirely circumstantial, there is a lot of evidence implicating the chief suspect, with little to none pointing elsewhere and no other plausible suspects to talk about. Our suspect's chief defense seems to be simply saying that he didn't do it, over and over, and as we are now used to seeing how a trace of DNA can nail someone to the wall even decades after the crime occurred, the absence of much new insight into the case now makes one wonder why the film was made. As we moved through Episode 2, it seemed like Episode 3 was going to be the final, modern-day resolution at last. It wasn't.

This benefits from the French family's perspective that Sheridan's version lacks as the family asked for their content to be withdrawn as they felt Sheridan's version was biased in favour of Bailey. More professional, factual and reveals more evidence enabling the viewer to make a more circumspect assessment of what might have transpired and who was responsible. Difficult to believe that anyone will be brought to justice after all this time but the ingredients to the story are the main reasons why our view of it is so opaque: breathtaking incompetence, lies, false testimony, cheating, corrupt Garda, subjectivity, mental health, a peculiar community of low-grade "artists" and "sculptors" apparently attracted by Ireland's 1997 "artist" tax exemption law, living in "idyllic" west Cork that has been more accurately described elsewhere as desolate as the ends of the earth. None of the characters are likeable, which seems to feed the eerie, weird oddity of the place and life there.