Dian Fossey: Secrets in the Mist

Expected much better from Executive Producer James Marsh ("Man on Wire") than this shallow dive into Dian Fossey's fascinating life and awful murder.

There is no suspense since the series starts with the murder and reveals the suspects early on. The filmmaker loses no time before she begins assaulting the viewer with lingering, repetitive and graphic shots of the mutilated corpses of several of Fossey's beloved mountain gorillas.

The film relies far too heavily on inept dramatizations. Interview subjects are nicely lit and all are interesting, but the director does them a disservice by using too many soundbites in which they essentially repeat themselves and each other.

Despite a deep interest in the subject, we gave up halfway through the series out of boredom and distress over the inclusion of so many stomach-turning shots of the damaged bodies of these magnificent primates.

If you want to know more about Dian Fossey's life, personality and contribution to the science, watch "Gorillas in the Mist," Michael Apted's magnificent 1988 film, rather than this badly made and exploitative series. (And, while I'm thinking of it, if you want to see masterful dramatizations, check out Apted's work with cinematographer Maryse Alberti in "Incident at Oglala.")