Predatory and Dishonest – Murphy's 'Love Story' is Hollywood at its Worst

‘In a digital era, entertainment often becomes collective memory. Real names are not       fictional tools. They belong to real lives.’ – that was Daryl Hannah in an essay written in the New York Times last week, responding to Ryan Murphy’s characterisation of her in his new show ‘Love Story’, which follows the life and death of Carolyn Bessette and John F. Kennedy Junior. Hannah, who gained worldwide attention from her role in the 1982 film ‘Blade Runner’, dated JFK Jr. on and off from the late 1980’s until the mid 1990’s and has rarely passed comment in the public domain about her relationship with the former president’s son.

Since the series burst onto the streaming scene in mid-February, it has become FX’s most watched limited series on Disney and Hulu. Whilst I’m sure Ryan Murphy – the controversial director and producer – is congratulating himself at its reception, it does conjure up more poignant questions pertaining to productions that claim to be ‘based on true events’ and how poetic licence can completely rewrite and recalibrate an individual’s public image.

Hannah’s voice joined those of others, such as Carole Radziwill (the widow of John’s cousin Anthony) and Jack Schlossberg (the son of Caroline Kennedy). The latter was keen to articulate in a recent CBS interview that the Kennedy family were not involved in the making of the series – branding it as a ‘fiction’ and highlighting the substantial financial gain Ryan Murphy will now be enjoying off the back of this misrepresentation.

It does feel somewhat tasteless delving into the lives of two people that died in such tragic circumstances. Further, it is even more uncomfortable when armed with the knowledge that Carolyn’s mother, Anne Freeman, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the estate of JFK Jr., which included her other daughter Lauren, in the Piper Saratoga in July 1999. Such loss, all at once. The lawsuit was filed in August of the same year and was eventually settled out of court in 2001 (before the two-year statute of limitations was set to expire) , the exact figure remains undisclosed. Surely, to sensationalise such anguish can only inflict emotional distress upon those left behind?

Undoubtedly, Murphy has astutely identified the spell that the 1990’s casts upon contemporary audiences, as Gen Z consume the culture in droves. He knew how to capitalise on this and utilise the adulation for the last decade of the 20^th century, which surges its way across social media platforms. The essence of the era is captured, albeit quintessentially, a time of Levis 501’s, minimalist fashion and evocative tunes that were basked in before the smartphone. Beyond this, however, lurks a sensationalism that fills in a lot of gaps.

To truly learn about the nature of the two main characters, we must head to accurate and reliable sources. Carole Radziwill, who was in the couple’s closest circle in their final years, has written openly in her SubStack ‘The Sunday Stories’ about the incessant battle she has had with the mischaracterisation of Bessette. From TikTok videos to Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, she has robustly responded and corrected.

But why should she have to? Reputable brands, such as FX and Vanity Fair, should know better than using someone’s exterior to garner attention, to then wholly rewrite their interior. This isn’t period drama, this is living memory, there are still close family members left behind that will have to endure their loss all over again. The masses’ entertainment is at their expense.

Ostensibly based upon the 2024 book Once Upon a Time by Elizabeth Beller, the reality, in my opinion at least, is one of contrast not resemblance. In the author’s note, Beller writes: ‘When reexamining her short life from a distance of twenty years, I found lessons about a dysfunctional culture and how women struggle to build a life within a patriarchal society.’ The acknowledgement of this dysfunction doesn’t seem to have been carried through to the series – where a woman has been forced to respond and confront the lies about her that have been dressed up as fact. Rather than taking note from these lessons that Beller has identified through her own creative process of collating then exhibiting, the series seems to feel like an active agent in the very same scrutiny that paralysed Carolyn. I found the book rehumanised her, it thoroughly combed through her life, how vital she was as well as capturing her glow – something that many seem to only attribute to her because of the union she decided to embark upon

The whole Carolyn and John saga, how they were depicted in the media before and after their deaths, reveals intimidating facts about how we now choose to fictionalise the past, over trusting our screens to give us the most accurate representation of subject matter. Living in an age where we have an abundance of fact at our fingertips, why is it we sometimes default to incuriosity? The instantaneous nature of the current media landscape does not encourage active investigation – these days we are always onto the next.

It is in this vacuum of reliable recounting that a series such as ‘Love Story’ flourishes and cements itself, becoming a document of fact when it is anything but.

Image: Flickr/John Mathew Smith

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