Killer Poet

A quiet, unsettling true-crime portrait that lingers on the strangeness of a hidden life and the people left behind.

Directed by

Susan Gray

Genres

Documentary

Overview

Norman Porter, a convicted double murderer from Massachusetts, served 25 years in prison before escaping to Chicago where he spent the next two decades living under the name JJ Jameson. He was apprehended in 2005, thanks to a relentless police investigation, just after being named Chicago’s “Poet of the Month.” The film interweaves varying perspectives on an elusive and enigmatic persona, from the eccentric characters living in the heart of Chicago’s beatnik-artist community, to the victims’ embittered families in Boston, and the vigilant officers behind the 20-year hunt for a killer.

How it feels

Eerie, melancholic, tense and cynical. Measured and needs your attention.

About

Identity, deception, crime, justice

Content

Mild violence and language. No gore or sexual content.

Note

Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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