REVIEW: Murder at the Cottage | Episode Three

It's a story that doesn't seem to stop.

The murder of Sophie Toscan Du Plantier has spawned podcasts, documentaries and hundreds, if not thousands, of articles - all focused on trying to figure out what happened on the night of the 23rd of December 1996.

We have covered the story from all angles - reporting on latest events and even reviewing the original West Cork podcast.

With the news this year that gardaí are launching a full review of the investigation that took place all those years ago, we decided to take a look at the two documentaries that, along with the podcast, brought the story to international attention.

You can read our review of the Netflix documentary here.

Catching up? Start with our review of episode one.

Episode three is less a documentary about Sophie, more a sort of weird portrait of Ian Bailey.

It's one designed to provoke sympathy but falls flat for more than one reason.

We hear about Bailey's trouble with alcohol.

He stands in his shed, drunkenly smoking and shouting about the perpetrators of injustices against him.

It's almost like a scene from an anti-lockdown meeting.

We see him at Skibbereen market where he plays the role of quirky seller of his and Jules' wares.

We see the hate mail they have both received. Bullets and syringes in the post would evoke sympathy in most.

But then we see the damage he did to Jules — the broken eye socket and terrible pain.

And you feel a little bit manipulated.

The episode thus far has been structured to make you feel sorry for a man who is then revealed to have done such damage. It feels a strange decision to order the information in such a way.

Sheridan again uses an archive footage of a member of Sophie's family in lieu of a present-day interview, this time with her son, Pierre-Louis Baudey.

And it's again one of the most affecting moments so far, as he takes us on a small tour of the house in Toormore where he has kept relics in her memory.

Sophie's old coat hangs on the back of a door, unmoved since 1996.

Pierre-Louis opens a jar of old tea, kept all these years for the memory associated with the musty smell.

A picture of Sophie hangs on the wall, completely faded to white.

These are again small details and moments which add so much.

All problems aside, the quote of the series so far comes from Bailey's barrister Ian Duggan: 'The Gardaí in this country are very good, very skilled.'

The case where Gardaí were late getting forensics, lost evidence as large as a gate, have been described as 'amateurish' and 'like the Blue brothers', and allegedly told Marie Farrell to give a false statement might not be the best one to prove that particular point.

And we end with more drunken conversation — Bailey singing and smoking.

He effs and blinds and sways and you can't help but wonder where Jim has gone in all of this.

Is he sitting off camera, red wine in hand, or did he just bring a bottle and sit back to enjoy the show?