2024 Movie
Dir. Patricia E. Gillespie · United States of America · English
An unremarkable documentary following the amateur sleuths who tried to uncover the mysterious identity of a deceased hiker
As documentaries go, They Called Him Mostly Harmless is pretty standard, if not forgettable, fare. There isn’t a lot of information regarding the case it focuses on, so it relies heavily on interviews with related persons and “internet sleuths” who have taken it upon themselves to solve the mystery of this hiker’s identity. It moves slowly, bogged even further down by unnecessary backstories that do nothing to get us closer to cracking the case. To be sure, it’s impressive that the missing man in question was able to scrub all evidence of his existence in this digital age, but the documentary fails to build on that intrigue and instead gives us something that sputters till the end.
When an unidentified hiker is found deceased in the Florida wilderness, authorities release a sketch. Multiple hikers call in claiming to have met the man. There's only one problem – he never told them his name. It would take two years, thousands of devoted internet sleuths, and a miracle of science to identify him, and that's when the trouble really starts.
Law enforcement and the hiking community come together to solve the mystery surrounding an unidentified hiker who passed away without leaving a trace of his identity.
In a sea of grim documentaries centered on serial killers, I’m just relieved this true crime story goes the other direction. It’s less about death than it is about a tight-knit community that banded together to help a member of the community find his peace. The best part about this documentary is that it’s hopeful, the worst part is everything else.
You learn more about the internet sleuths who fancy themselves detectives than the subject of the case.
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.
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