Netflix’s Upcoming True Crime Will Make You Want to Unwatch It

There is no doubt that Netflix is now dominating the true crime scene with its documentaries that shock the curious audience. Indeed, every month the platform’s catalog is added by a number of worth-watching docufilms that can creep you out.

The upcoming documentary is no exception here — it’s really a captivating, yet extremely hard watch. Even though there are no murders, kidnappings or robberies, the movie is scary due to its exploration of society’s most painful issues.

It starts by introducing us to Anna Stubblefield, a respected university professor who seems to be happy in her marriage and occupation. Her life turns upside down when she meets Derrick Johnson, who is 11 years her junior, but not only that.

The point is, Jonhson, a black nonverbal man, was diagnosed with severe cognitive disabilities in his early childhood. Stubblefield decides to teach him to communicate using a keyboard, and the result of these lasting lessons appears to be shocking.

Years later, the professor comes to the man’s family and confesses that she and Derrick are in love and, besides, that he’s now “a man in every sense of the word.” It becomes the very particular moment when public opinion on this controversial affair divides.

Netflix’s documentary will provide the evidence of Stubblefield herself, the Johnsons and other people who witnessed this affair and then followed the trial of the woman, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for raping Derrick, but was released two years later.

It explores a number of essential themes, including the possibility of a relationship between a professor and their scientific subject, racial issues, infidelity, age difference, physical and intellectual disability and the very nature of consent.

The main question here arouses: could it be pure love without sexual assault? You can ask yourself, whether a man with the mental capacity of a one-year-old child can properly judge such a complex situation by himself and eventually give his consent.

Titled Tell Them You Love Me, it appears to be quite a disturbing true crime doc where a lot of complicated questions remain ambiguously answered or unanswered at all.

Check out this devastating yet vital film, as it’ll become available on Netflix on June 14.