On March 27, the Italian Supreme Court finally brought the case of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher to an end by definitively quashing the convictions of American Amanda Knox and Italian Raffaele Sollecito.

It was a case that dominated the headlines from the moment in 2007 when Kercher’s body was discovered in the flat in Perugia, Italy, that she shared with Knox.

Claims that Kercher was killed because she refused to take part in sex games and the brutal nature of her murder only added to the sensationalism surrounding the case.

In the seven years since, Knox and Sollecito were – among others – prosecuted, first convicted and then acquitted, only to see their acquittals overturned until the judgment last week gave them back their freedom.

Arrives on the back of some strong reviews

Yet, undoubtedly, the interest in the case will not wane, considering the many questions about the crime that remain unanswered.

Released locally by Eden Cinemas, The Face of an Angel is a fictionalised adaptation of Angel Face: Sex, Murder and the Inside Story of Amanda Knox by Barbie Latza Nadeau. It is directed by Michael Winterbottom and stars Daniel Bruhl, Kate Beckinsale and Cara Delevingne.

The film explores the fascination by the media and the public with violent crime through the eyes of a film director Thomas Lang (Bruhl).

Lang is working on a screen adaptation of journalist Simone Ford’s (Beckinsale) book, which recounts the controversial trial of American student Jessica Fuller, accused of the murder of her flatmate Elizabeth Pryce. This murder took place in Italy. where both Thomas and Simone go to continue working on the project.

On visiting the scene where the brutal crime took place, Thomas is painfully aware of the media frenzy surrounding the case and an encounter with another student Melanie (Delevingne), forces him to question his own reasons for wanting to make the film.

The Face of an Angel is a film that should appeal to fans of true life crime drama, especially given the ever-topical nature of the story that inspired it.

It arrives on our shores on the back of some strong reviews. Time Out commenting that the film’s “layered, enquiring, half-formed and unknowing vibe feels fitting in the context of a tragic real life story that has inspired all sorts of hysteria and unfounded opinion”.

The Hollywood Reporter says that “Michael Winterbottom’s exploration into the nature of truthful filmmaking and storytelling makes for a rich, poetic film that is not simple to decipher”.