The Keepers is an American television series produced by Netflix. This documentary series by Ryan White tells in the manner of Making a Murderer the unsolved story of the murder of Cathy Cesnik, a young nun, killed 50 years earlier.
Two former classmates, Gemma Hoskins and Abbie Schaub decide to present and continue the unfinished investigation into Sister Cathy's murder. At the time of her death, the 26-year-old nun was their English teacher when they were at Keough High School in Baltimore City.
Gemma and Abbie will surround themselves with journalists and investigators to meet with suspects and alleged witnesses in the case.
The Keepers presents very touching characters. The real witnesses describe what happened to them. In particular, Jean Hargrove who testifies to the sexual abuse she suffered when she was younger and which destroyed her. The sequences of reconstructions with actors are very interesting. They actually create a sense of anguish and horror at times.
Indeed, in the series, there is a desire to ensure that shame turns to the aggressors and not the victims. The guilt syndrome induced by the aggressors shows us what a narcissistic pervert is. The main perpetrator, Joseph Maskell, used the suffering and flaws of his victims to hurt them even more. We also observe in the series the reflection of the expression unity is strength. Indeed, the victims support each other and allow the investigation to evolve.
The Keepers also tells the story of the characters' desire to change the laws, especially to protect victims. With the help of its laws, aggressors would be punished more. There is a real desire that stems from a need of victims to feel understood and heard. The series defends this point of view a lot, both during court footage to change the law and during interviews with victims.
The series wants to make things happen within the police. She points out a number of inconsistencies and laxity during this investigation. We sometimes even wonder if it has not been corrupted by a third party. In this series, we define the repression of emotions. This mental mechanism allows the victims' brains to protect themselves from experienced traumatic events. It protects them but prevents investigators from doing their job properly because memories do not always come back in full quickly and in a timely manner.
The Keepers highlights male authority and the use of religion to silence victims. It is very violent because these are the raw testimonies of the victims. The series does not necessarily address the fragile public because empathy towards the victims is very quickly and we quickly feel helpless in the face of these aggressors.
Music is put to good use. She accompanies the spectator as a reassuring character or not depending on the sequences. It is very gripping to the point that it feels like The Keepers is a long film. We sometimes wonder if the people who testify are the real people or if they are comedians.
The series is extremely well paced. Indeed, even if the episodes can be scary by their length, the progress of the investigation hooks us from the beginning. We really accompany these two endearing grandmothers that are Gemma and Abbie as they discover.
Even if The Keepers does not answer all our questions, it breaks the taboo of violence and pedophile rape.
