The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story is Ryan Murphy’s dramatic retelling of the story of spree killer Andrew Cunanan, played with mesmerising intensity by former Glee star Darren Criss. He is a private-school-educated serial killer with a genius IQ whose cross-country path of destruction earns him a spot on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List before he murders international fashion icon Gianni Versace (Edgar Ramirez) on the steps of Versace’s Miami residence in 1997.
Based on the best-selling book Vulgar Favors by Maureen Orth, the series examines the disorganised search for Cunanan by law enforcement and how, according to Murphy and writer Tom Rob Smith, institutionalised homophobia at the time was partially to blame. Penelope Cruz co-stars as Versace’s sister and muse Donatella, who after her brother’s death was herself embraced by the fashion world.
Cunanan’s story is told backwards chronologically from Versace’s shooting on a bright South Beach morning outside his extravagant mansion, a piece of shrapnel also taking out a dove that lies next to the fashion king as the coroner pursues his grim task. Murphy calls his approach the “onion peel of shame”, layers stripped off as we journey in time away from the murder, the picture of Cunanan gradually emerging in flashbacks.
Murphy knew the huge success of his Oscar-winning The People v. OJ Simpson meant something singular was needed to surprise the audience. And what he cleverly gives us is not merely another serial killer story, but a complex narrative about what it takes to become a monster. The first episode reveals Cunanan as a deeply flawed narcissist with the motivation and intelligence to become anything he desired to be, but who really only excelled at manipulation and sinister deception. Murphy directs with his characteristic skill, revelling in the juxtaposition of the beautiful and the ugly and violent.
Save Me: unlikely hero; The Assassination of Gianni Versace – The Australian
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