Our take
It’s rare for true crime documentaries to take on open, ongoing cases, so Taken Together is commendable for having the courage to do that, at least. But overall, this three-part docuseries about the unfortunate abduction of young cousins Elizabeth and Lyric fails to relay the facts of its case in a meaningful or respectful way. It quickly goes off the rails as it follows the mess surrounding the tragedy, not the tragedy itself, proving that it’s more interested in scandal than the actual victims. If it were truly concerned for the well-being of the survivors (i.e. the children’s families), then it wouldn’t have the distressed parents recount the events numerous times throughout its multi-year interviews. And perhaps this is just nitpicking, but I don’t like how director Dylan Sires inserts himself into this story. His comments feel unnecessary at best and vain at worst.
Streaming arrival
The story
Dives into the haunting 2012 double abduction of two cousins, 10-year-old Lyric Cook-Morrissey and 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins, in Evansdale, Iowa. With over seven years of exclusive access and insider interviews.
Using exclusive interviews and news footage, director Dylan Sires tells the horrifying true story of how eight-year-old Elizabeth and twelve-year-old Lyric went missing one fateful morning, and how their families coped since then.
There is a case for stitching together interviews of the same people answering the same questions throughout different years. If you want to see how they’ve changed, maybe, or emphasize how they haven’t. I want to believe this was Sires intent in the movie, but the execution is frustratingly muddled. It’s obvious that sometimes, he just does this to fill the gaps of an incomplete answer.
It’s an important account of the Evansdale tragedy, but not the most well-told one.
The details
Who picked it
Renee Cuisia is the lead curator at A Good Movie to Watch. In her spare time, she likes to watch K-dramas and analyze them to death. She's also seen You've Got Mail one too many times but is still convinced it's one of the greatest films out there.
