Movie review
April 6, 2023 · 119 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The film follows a troubled young Baltimore police officer recruited by an FBI agent to profile and hunt a sniper who kills dozens during New Year's Eve fireworks and subsequent attacks. The procedural investigation uncovers the killer as a socially isolated man shaped by personal trauma and resentment. Specific woke elements include the audience-visible portrayal of the lead FBI agent as a gay married man and recurring dialogue that frames mass violence as a product of failing U.S. institutions including gun access, mental health systems, bureaucracy, politicians, media, and the NRA.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for To Catch a Killer.
Woke representation / casting
Gay married FBI agent is an audience-visible detail repeatedly called out by viewers as deliberate/forced inclusion; female lead cop and Black team member fit contemporary urban police setting without mismatch, swaps, or unearned dominance.
Woke political dialogue
Characters deliver pointed speeches and discussions blaming politicians, media, bureaucracy, gun proliferation, and mental health neglect for creating conditions that produce mass shooters.
Identity-driven story themes
Killer's arc emphasizes personal trauma and broad societal alienation rather than race, gender, or sexuality as central drivers; brief one-scene nod to possible white-supremacist or incel motives stays peripheral.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Narrative repeatedly frames American systems — police/FBI bureaucracy, political pressure, media sensationalism, NRA influence, easy firearms access, and inadequate mental health care — as complicit in enabling the violence through specific plot points and dialogue.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant — original story with no source material, adaptations, or historical figure reinterpretations.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Specific viewer backlash targets the gay agent portrayal as obligatory and flags gun-control/societal-preaching moments as propaganda; confined largely to Reddit and niche anti-woke sites with minimal mainstream pickup.
Creator track record context
Szifron's *Wild Tales* shows a pattern of critiquing social injustice and institutional failure, and lead actress Woodley has activist background, but neither indicates a strong identity-politics or representation-first history on this project.
Production
