'The Girl From Plainville' is a bland take on Michelle Carter case
CNN
The strange case of Michelle Carter turns out to have been better suited to a documentary than a drama, as "The Girl From Plainville" -- Hulu's stark, spare eight-episode series -- proves too inward and clenched.
What New York magazine reporter Marin Cogan described as a "thoroughly modern romance ... conducted almost entirely online" represents the major hurdle for the producers from a dramatic standpoint, since the two only met a few times. They grapple with that digital divide by depicting many of their text exchanges as what amount to in-person conversations, an understandable dramatic device that nevertheless feels as if it blurs the contours of the relationship.
The story hinges on the death of Conrad "Coco" Roy III (Colton Ryan), who took his own life after Carter (Fanning) prodded him to do so. Later, she offered inconsistent stories about what happened, which eventually resulted in her trial and conviction on involuntary manslaughter charges.
When Kenyan President William Ruto touched down in Beijing seven months ago, he was welcomed on the tarmac with a red carpet and cordons of Chinese troops standing at attention. Among the goals of his three-day state visit in October: Securing another $1 billion in loans from China to help complete infrastructure projects.