The Girl From Plainville Teaser: An Awful Subject For Entertainment

Hulu has released a new teaser for their upcoming series "The Girl From Plainville," starring Elle Fanning. The series is based on the real-life case of Michelle Carter, the young woman who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for encouraging her boyfriend to kill himself through text messages.

Fanning is a magnificent actress. I love her work in everything, particularly in "The Great." I just don't understand why she would choose to act in this project. Though it is a story that kept the nation riveted, I don't know that it deserves the entertainment treatment. Yes, it's something many people are struggling to understand, but there is something about this case that is a little too awful to watch because of fascination with the story.

There is also the matter of the makeup transformation of Fanning into Carter, complete with heavy eyebrows and a very different forehead. It's very distracting, and takes away from the subject matter. It also seems to be inconsistent from scene to scene, even in this teaser.  

I don't like the fact that this is about a young man who died by suicide, and we're focusing on the tabloid aspects of it all. It's a strange story, and it's heartbreaking. It seems wrong somehow to make this an "ooh, what made her do it?" sort of thing. Perhaps it will be handled well. I really hope it is. The series is based on the Esquire article about the real case by Jesse Barron, who is on in a consulting capacity. Erin Lee Carr, who directed the HBO documentary about the subject, "I Love You Now Die: The Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter" is also a consultant. Maybe that will help. There was also a Lifetime original movie called "Conrad & Michelle: If Words Could Kill."