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Parents' Guide to

Sophie: A Murder in West Cork

By Ashley Moulton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Slow-paced true crime docu has violent themes.

TV Netflix Reality TV 2021
Sophie: A Murder in West Cork Poster Image

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What's the Story?

SOPHIE: A MURDER IN WEST CORK explores Sophie Toscan du Plantier's murder in Ireland's remote County Cork. Du Plantier was visiting her Cork vacation property around Christmas in 1996, and her body was found brutally murdered outside her home. The crime tore apart the close-knit seaside community where it happened, and the residents turned against one another as they wondered about a murderer lurking in their midst. Without a clear motive or any physical crime scene evidence, detectives cast a wide net in their search for the killer. Local journalist Ian Bailey was eventually convicted in French courts (du Plantier was a French native), but a series of legal challenges over the following decades meant that the case was still ongoing when the documentary premiered. Viewers are left to decide: Was Bailey correctly convicted, or did someone else get away with murder?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

True crime fans may find some aspects of this documentary compelling, but it's fairly boring compared to standouts in the genre (like Making a Murderer or Wild Wild Country). Sophie: A Murder in County Cork is excellent at building suspense with dramatizations of Sophie's supernatural premonitions, creepy music, and moody shots of the misty County Cork setting. Once it's revealed that the prime suspect is journalist Ian Bailey, the documentary's interviews with Bailey himself are downright unnerving. Otherwise, the documentary moves slowly and doesn't offer many insights into larger themes beyond the murder mystery.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how investigators pursue a crime without physical evidence. Do you think it's fair to convict someone on circumstantial evidence alone? Do you think the conviction discussed here was the correct decision?

  • Families can talk about devices the documentary producers used to evoke feelings of suspense, other-worldly involvement, empathy for Sophie's family, and more. What details did they choose to include or leave out? How did music play a part? How did the setting (County Cork) play a part?

  • What do you think about the producers' choice to make Bailey, the person convicted for the crime, a major character in the documentary?

TV Details

  • Premiere date: June 30, 2021
  • Network: Netflix
  • Genre: Reality TV
  • TV rating: TV-14
  • Last updated: February 18, 2023

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