“Baby Doe” is a fascinating but tough-to-watch true crime documentary that digs into a really complicated case. Directed by Jessica Earnshaw, the film follows Gail Ritchey, a woman who lived a quiet suburban life until DNA evidence linked her to the decades-old case of “Geauga’s Child” (where a newborn left to die in the woods 30 years earlier). Suddenly, Gail is arrested for murder. The film unpacks not just her story, but also the larger issues of women’s rights, religion, and the legal system.
From the start, it’s obvious that Gail’s story is messy. She grew up in a strict religious home with a controlling father, and she clearly has some deep-seated issues of emotional abuse and low self-esteem. The documentary doesn’t shy away from the contradictions in her version of events (where er explanations don’t always add up), nor her incredibly cold demeanor as she recounts her past (including when she repeatedly refers to her deceased infant as “it”). But the biggest shock (and one that almost completely turned me against Gail) is the revelation that this wasn’t the only time Gail threw her newborn baby in the garbage: she actually did this twice. That fact alone makes it really hard to feel sympathy for her, even though the film presents her as genuinely remorseful.
Gail is a complicated figure; at times sympathetic, at other times, infuriating. The film does a great job of letting the audience sit with that discomfort.
The documentary is put together well, balancing the legal drama with deeper psychological and emotional angles. The courtroom strategy is interesting to watch, and the film makes a point to show how much the jury was swayed by the heartbreaking, gruesome details (though the director wisely chooses not to show the actual crime scene photos). Still, just hearing the descriptions of what officers found is disturbing enough.
One of the most thought-provoking parts of the documentary is how it examines the stigma around pregnancy, especially in strict religious communities. These cases often involve young women in complete denial, ashamed and afraid to ask for help. The film makes you wonder if abortion wasn’t so stigmatized, would any of this have happened in the first place?
“Baby Doe” is an emotional documentary that raises a lot of tough questions.
By: Louisa Moore
Screen Zealots 