Although the new Tom McCarthy film Stillwater stars Matt Damon as a man who has his daughter imprisoned in Europe because of a murder that she may have committed, it is clearly inspired by Amanda Knox's story. She is the woman wrongly convicted of murder, imprisoned for many years in Italy, where the authorities and media have vilified her and framed her as a party-obsessed American girl, who then tried to flee, making it difficult for anyone to find her true killer. This is a lot of what happens in Stillwater. McCarthy mentions in interviews Knox's story in the inspiration for the film, even though the movie doesnt actually focus on her. McCarthy is not shy about stating that Amanda Knox was the inspiration for this film.AdvertisementAmanda Knox was not asked what her feelings were about this. Knox, the real Knox, has written Medium (via IndieWire), a piece in which she considers whether her story, name and face really belong to her or can be freely used by anyone who wants to make a profit out of her life. Apart from the fact that McCarthy & Damon freely refer Stillwater as being inspired by her life, Knox's main concern is that she is being robbed of her agency. Her name is now being used to promote a film about the same murder, even though she did not commit it.It still feels like she's being treated as a fictional character in a sensationalized tale instead of a real person. She doesn't think it is fair to her right not to be influenced by what the media portrays her. Through some spoilers for Stillwater she also points out that some of the fictionalized parts of Amanda Knox's character in the movie play into unfair conspiracies and criticisms that some people have regarding her life. She says that this reinforces the image that I am a guilty and untrustworthy individual.
