You may have heard of Stillwater, the new movie that opens this weekend. It is loosely based upon the Amanda Knox case. Knox herself regrets that she was not included in it. Also, it stars Matt Damon. These two facts may seem at first contradictory. I don't think he would be on any casting director's wish list to play the role of a female college student accused of killing her roommate. He is 50 years old and male. (Will Hunting not more!) Instead of focusing on the student in this scenario, Stillwater focuses on her father and Damon's character. This is the first sign that the film isn't an easy adaptation of real-life events. But it doesn't end there. There are many differences between Knox's case and Stillwater. Here is a list of the major points at which real life and fiction diverge.Biographical InformationAmanda Knox hails from Seattle. She is from a middle-class background and attended the University of Washington. Both her parents divorced as a child and she later married another man. Stillwater is Allison Baker (played here by Abigail Breslin). It has a less dramatic and more dramatic backstory. She's a poor child from Oklahoma and was raised by her grandmother. Her mother committed suicide, while her father, Bill (thats Damon), was an abuser and had legal problems.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCurt Knox, Knox's father who worked in finance spoke to the media. However, he wasn't a cloak and dagger figure or her only lifeline. So the Bill Baker character is essentially a whole-cloth invention. The drama is intensified by the details of his past. Bill is a high-school dropout who works on oil wells. However, when we meet him, he has been working in construction and tornado cleanup shifts to make ends meet. He is a little bit of a stereotype from the heartland: He speaks very few words and uses maam quite a lot when speaking. He is a baseball hat-wearing, jeans-wearing, prayer-serious man. He also has a tattoo of an Eagle on his arm. Although all this may scream Trump supporter but the movie doesn't mention his political views. When another character questions him about who he voted in the U.S. presidential elections, he replies that he wasn't eligible to vote because he was a felon. Although Bill and his daughter don't often get along, he doesn't seem to trust her due to his inconsistency over the years.The CrimeMeredith Kercher's body was found in her apartment in Perugia in Italy in November 2007. Kercher was on exchange to England from an American university. She had lived with Amanda Knox, another American exchange student. Knox, her then-boyfriend, was an Italian student named Raffaele Solecito and Rudy Guede. Rudy Guede was a local man who knew Kercher.AdvertisementAdvertisementStillwater swaps Perugia for Marseille in France where Allison, an American student, was charged with the murder of Lina, a young Arab woman with whom Allison lived and was romantically involved at time of her death.Stereotypes and Tabloid FeesKnox attracted a lot of media attention around the world. She was called a femme fatale, nicknamed Foxy Knoxy and many other bizarre theories were flouted during the frenzy. One of them was that the killing was part in one of their drug-fueled sex games. In Stillwater, it was implied that the media took advantage of Lina and Allison's same-sex relationship to make a scandalous detail, echoing the speculations in tabloids about Knox's sex life. Allison's nationality adds tension. Although she is not from a wealthy family, she is considered to be privileged as she is a white American university student.Other SuspectsWhile Sollecito and Knox were the most prominent targets of media attention in the Italy case, there were other people who were also investigated. Knox was initially interrogated by police about the case. She then implicated Patrick Lumumba as her boss at the bar where she had part-time work. After a brief time, he was taken into custody, but Knox released him. Knox claimed that he was being manipulated by the Italian authorities. Guede was also arrested as a possible subject just weeks after the murder. Guede fled to Germany to hide the body, but was returned to Italy by extradition.AdvertisementAdvertisementStillwater: Allison claims that Lina was drinking with Akim the night Lina died. Akim then took Allison's purse and murdered Lina. Akim is not mentioned in the movie, but Allison believes that he could be tracked down and his DNA tested. Both cases show tensions when a foreign-born white woman accuses a non-white man of the crime. Many people in the movie doubt that Akim even exists.Trials and prison sentencesKnox and Sollecitos were convicted in 2009 of murder and sexual assault and sentenced to 26 years and 25 years respectively. After four years in prison, they won an appeal in 2011. They were not released from prison after a four-year legal battle. In 2013, an Italian court revoked their acquittal. In 2015, they were cleared once more. Guede was convicted of the crime in 2008 after his fingerprints and DNA were discovered at the scene. Guede was originally sentenced to 30 years. However, it was gradually reduced and he was finally released in 2020. He was also told that he could complete his sentence by doing community service. Guede was the only person to be convicted for the murder.AdvertisementThe film shows Lina's death as Lina is buried in a gravestone. When we meet Allison, she has been in prison for five and a half years with four more to go. She has clearly been through an appeals process. When Bill speaks to Allison's lawyer about a possible new lead regarding Akim, she urges them to abandon it and accept the sentence. Bill wants to locate Akim because Linas murder scene contained unidentified DNA, echoing the Knox case evidence.Support their DaughtersTo get Amanda to her trial, the Knox family used vacation time, airline miles, and sick time. There were also times when they lived in Italy for extended periods. Her family was financially in trouble due to the cost of living and her legal fees. Amanda's parents had their own encounter with the law in Italy. Amanda's father and mother were both charged with slander after claiming that Amanda was abused by police while she was being interrogated about Kerchers murder.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBill Baker, like the Knoxes visits his daughter frequently in Marseille prison. The staff at the hotel where Baker stays knows him well. He eventually moves to Marseille for good, and he does so throughout the film. Allison's grandmother is in bad health and is unable to visit. Bill is her only hope. Their already stretched family is clearly feeling the strain from Allison's case. It is revealed that Bill once punched a journalist because he was frustrated with the case and the treatment of his daughter.Prison timeAmanda Knox spent time in prison and kept herself busy by studying Italian, keeping a journal, exercising, being with her toddler, the prisons chaplain and writing for fellow inmates.AdvertisementWe don't know much about Allison's time in prison. However, it is revealed that she once worked in the library. It is not clear if she learned French in prison or if she came to it with a good command. However, she can read and write the language and, by the time she is released from prison, her French is proficient enough to impress Bill and her daughter.AdvertisementKnox stated that she had considered suicide while in prison. Allison hangs herself after receiving conditional day release.A local hot lady is the perfect woman to fall in love withIt is not known whether Curt Knox fell in love with a local woman while he was in Italy visiting his daughter. The plot of Stillwater, however, is focused on Bill Baker falling in love with a Marseille hot lady while he was in Marseille to support his daughter's case.Happy (?) Happy (?)After four years in prison in Italy, Amanda Knox was released and received a hero's welcome in the United States. After some questionable actions by Bill, Allison is released and receives an Oklahoma town fair. Although I won't reveal the ending, given the way it diverges from Knox's story, it shouldn't surprise you that the movie's final resolution is more dramatic than what occurred after Knox returned home.
