Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer (2018)

• Year: 2018
• Released: 12 Oct 2018
• Country: United States
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3722234/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gosnell_the_trial_of_americas_biggest_serial_killer
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/gosnell-the-trial-of-americas-biggest-serial-killer
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: PG-13
• Genre: Crime, Drama
• Runtime: 93 min
• Writer: Andrew Klavan, Ann McElhinney, Phelim McAleer
• Director: Nick Searcy
• Cast: Michael Beach, Janine Turner, Dean Cain
• Keywords: based on novel or book, based on true story, based on a true story, serial killer, abortion,

	6.6/10
	60% – Critics
	97% – Audience

Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer Storyline

This police/court room drama is based on actual information on Dr. Kermit Gosnell (played by Earl Billings) who for decades ran a Philadelphia inner-city abortion clinic. In 2010, Philadelphia Police Detectives Wood (Dean Cain) and Stark (Alfonzo Rachel), with DEA and FBI agents, raid the clinic for evidence of illegal prescription drug sales. They are shocked by the clinic’s filthy conditions, bags of aborted fetuses in hallways, and fetal body parts stored in a refrigerator. Interviewing clinic workers, they learn: patients are given anesthesia by untrained assistants; one patient died on the operating table from an anesthesia overdose; abortions were performed on babies older than 24 weeks; and some babies were delivered alive, after which Dr. Gosnell cut their spinal cord with scissors. The detectives take the bagged bodies to the coroner and bring the situation to the attention of DA Dan Molinari (Michael Beach). An Assistant DA (Sara Jane Morris) agrees to prosecute the murder case. Getting a warrant, they search Gosnell’s home for missing files and other evidence and discover a large amount of cash (the required method of payment for Gosnell’s services). In 2013, the DA’s office brings Gosnell to trial on murder charges. Gosnell hires an experienced defense attorney (Nick Searcy, who also directs the film) who defends Gosnell as performing a service to minority women. The DA’s prosecutor obtains compelling testimony and photos from one of Gosnell’s young assistants. The jury deliberates for 10 days before offering their verdict.

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Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer Movie Reviews

Pitch Perfect Film About a Difficult Subject

I knew the general outlines of this story, and had high hopes for this film, and it still blew me away! They took an extremely difficult subject and somehow made a PG-13 movie that was pitch perfect. All of the horror is conveyed but graphic images are minimized so as not to make anyone turn away.

By the way, Dean Cain and Zo Rachel make such a great team, they could use their characters to make one of those buddy cop movies.

There is no soapbox preaching here. Just a first rate movie about something that really happened. Go see it.

Powerful and Unexpected

I went to see this movie today not really knowing much about the subject. I’m a big fan of the writer of the screen play Andrew Klavan (of the Andrew Klavan Show) and he had promoted the movie on the show so I decided to go check it out.

It was gripping from beginning to end. Based on true events. I had no idea what to expect but it was really one of the most powerful films I have ever seen. I was thinking about it all day after I saw it early in the afternoon. I rarely shed tears at a movie but this one had me nearly openly weeping. All the people around me in the theater were in tears at a certain point in the film. I hadn’t cried in the movie theater like this since Million Dollar Baby.

This is one of the most important films to come out in a long time. It is not for the faint-of-heart… though everyone should see it.

3801 Lancaster Avenue

In the prosecution’s case against Dr. Kermit Barron Gosnell, a concerted effort was made to not argue the pros and cons of abortion. Instead, the goal was to address the facts of an alleged pattern of homicide committed at the clinic at 3801 Lancaster Avenue in Philadelphia. So, too, the filmmakers of “Gosnell,” were able to stay away from the politics of abortion to raise awareness about a relatively unpublicized trial in 2013.

It is also a credit to the film artists that they were able to withstand a media boycott that clearly limited the opening of their film in movie theaters around the nation. After a modest premiere in limited theaters, the film was released directly to the public. Apparently, the initial DVD release of “Gosnell” was a top seller on Amazon, beating out award-winning films like “A Star is Born” and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and its entire inventory at Walmart stores was sold within a matter of days.

Whether the viewer is pro-life or pro-choice, the film tells an important story not in some distant time in the past when “backyard mechanics” were the main venue for abortions, but a clinic in Philadelphia in contemporary times run by Dr. Gosnell from 2009-13. The trial before the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania found the doctor guilty on multiple counts of murder, and the jury was clearly able to set aside their views on abortion to examine the evidence objectively. Dr. Gosnell is now a lifer with no chance of parole.

Beyond the good performances of the district attorney Lexy McGuire, as played by Sarah Jane Morris, and the undercover cop James “Woody” Wood, as played by Dean Cain, the most interesting character was a reporter-blogger named Molly Mullaney, as played by Cyrina Fiallo. The reporter, who was obviously pro-choice, was successful in looking at the case impartially and succeeded in providing invaluable evidence for the prosecution. She was also instrumental in filling the seats in the courtroom, which were empty at the start of the trial due to lack of coverage of the case in the media.

The character of Molly Mullaney was refreshing in the light of the diminishing lack of journalistic integrity in the mainstream press today. While this film was far too gruesome in the details presented visually about the malpractice in Dr. Gosnell’s clinic, it highlighted the absolutely essential function of a free and unbiased press in a democratic society. This film has neither a liberal nor conservative bias, and it took some courage and tenacity to see this film through to completion. Everyone associated with this project is to be commended.