Murdered for Being Different

Murdered for Being Different was a docudrama about the death of Sophie Lancaster, a young woman who was beaten to death just for being a goth. The docudrama focused on both the relationship between Sophie (Abigail Lawrie) and her boyfriend, Rob (Nico Mirallegro) and the guilt the one witness, Michael (Reiss Jarvis) suffered. Murdered for Being Different was directed by Paul Andrew Williams, the director of the excellent indie film London to Brighton and gave the Murdered for Being Different an almost documentary look due to the use of handheld cameras. It was well-acted as a project like this needed to be and the storyline about Michael and the criminal investigation was the one that held my interest the most since he had to choose between his friends and doing the right thing.

Hate crimes unfortunately always have been, are and will be. This docu-drama goes straight to the point - it depicts one painfully tragic case without any unnecessary pathos or moralising. Actors were great, especially the main couple and that boy. And to those sadistic - and thankfully properly punished - teenage @!#$%& (I don't know a word that expresses the level of contempt and disgust I feel for them), let me quote the judge's final words: 'At least wild animals, when they hunt in packs, have a legitimate reason for so doing, to obtain food. You have none and your behaviour on that night degrades humanity itself".

Have been using IMDb for years and have watched many a documentary- series or drama etc but felt compelled to write my first review! I remember the news coverage of this but being young I didn't take too much notice and interest. This program was particularly thoughtful in regards to pressures on youth to 'fit in' and on others ' to keep their mouths shut'. The highlight for me was the ending with the use of Placebos version of KATE Bush's 'Running up that hill'. Never really listened to the words before but they made complete sense and highlighted the entire story! Well done BBC

A well portrayed summary of events that actually happened. A harrowing and emotional view of hate crime. Two young adults that have had their lives destroyed because (as the title alludes) they were simply different. I'm trying not to give to much away but as it is a true story (and I remember seeing this in the news in the UK) my thoughts are with the survivor, I hope that person is doing well. I was impressed at how well this made. After this, hopefully more people will think before doing. I recommend you watch this.

I started watching this expecting to get bored but within the first few minutes - I was gripped . excellent script excellent depiction of a real life event. An excellent but very sad film film