“Unbelievable” is a Netflix series based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning “An Unbelievable Story of Rape” about a young woman, Marie, who was sexually assaulted and reported it to the police in 2008. However, the police dismiss her case, and her family and friends don’t believe her story.

Everyone doubted Marie so much that eventually she believed she made the situation up herself. Three years later, two detectives try to solve a series of crimes that also involve sexual assault.

The series follows the original story very closely, aside from some name changes due to legal reasons.

The audience is immediately thrown into the aftermath of the assault as they follow Marie in the first episode. It gives the viewer the sense of what Marie might’ve felt at that time: confused, frustrated and scared.

When the story starts following the two detectives, it also felt like I was in their shoes and knew as much as they did. Every time they discovered a clue it was something I discovered with them too. I’m sure the audience will too.

There were times I wanted to follow Marie’s storyline more than the detective’s because her situation was interesting and quite heartbreaking.

The pacing can be slow at times. However, it is meant to be taken slowly as each clue is found and connected.

The message of this story is powerful because it changed the way the police went about investigating sexual assaults, but also how they sometimes treated victims of rape.

Drawing from her ordeal, Marie states in the story just how important it is to report situations like this to the police and remember every detail. In the story towards the end, Marie was asked if she ever thought of never reporting it.

She said no. She wanted to make sure she stated everything she knew to the police so that whoever did it would get caught before doing it someone else.

Stories like this need to be heard and reflected on as a society to make sure that other cases like Marie’s will not happen again.

All students should watch this because it’s important to see that reporting situations like this to the police is important to make sure that others won’t become victims too.

If you are a fan of crime dramas or stories that take their time, this will be a show that moves you.

It is not a fast-paced show, but it is interesting. You will want to see what will happen next in this brutally honest and well-adapted story.

Written by Isabella Schneider, staff writer. Photo Courtesy of Netflix.