A few years ago, a young British woman was murdered in Sienna, Italy. The case gained worldwide attention as the girls’ American roommate, and friend was accused, tried, and convicted of the crime and then later acquitted on appeal.

_The Face of an Angel_ is a fictionalization of this case. Sort of. Rather than going for the true crime, based on a true story type film, director Michael Winterbottom and writer Paul Viragh instead opt to tell the story of a washed-up film director in Sienna trying to find a story among the city, the massive media presence, and local characters during the appeal trial.

Yes, we’re basically talking about a director making a film about a director trying to make a film about a real-life story. And also using _Dante’s Inferno_ as a frame for the story. Yeah. It’s a bit weird. Not what I’d call bad, but definitely weird.

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