阶梯之间第一季

由HBO Max新推出的犯罪悬疑神剧《阶梯之间》可真敢拍，把一个需要手动打码的血腥悬案搬上了荧屏，烂番茄95%，在咱们这没大火真是可惜，今天就跟大家聊聊它。

HBO Max《阶梯之间》打开新观感，上车【蜜糖商店Metshop】看起来！

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该剧由一个真实案件改编而来，本世纪初，在北美引起轰动，甚至与辛普森杀妻案同样有名的小说家杀妻案。一位小说家的妻子身亡，丈夫报警声称是跌落楼梯所致。但警方发现，妻子的死并非意外，而是谋杀。

小说家彼得森与妻子的关系有点复杂，他们是重组家庭，两人共有5个孩子，外人看起来幸福美满，但伴随着妻子的惨死，一切分崩离析。

影片采用了倒叙，插叙的多种叙事手法，将案件发生之前，以及案件发生之后的家庭生活状况呈现给观众，得以看到这个重组家庭的其他经历和背景。

原本妻子在楼梯间摔死，被认定成是一起意外事故，但通过尸检报告以及警方调查，发现所谓的意外死亡背后疑点重重。妻子头部的大量伤痕似乎是被重物攻击，再加上出血量太多不像是普通跌倒的出血量。

彼得森既是受害人家属又是最大的嫌疑人，公众对于这一案件的看法也各不相同。悬念重重下，真相当然是最吸引观众的，彼得森作为嫌疑人却没有证据链，难道还有其他人做案，事情的真相复杂迷离，彼得森在其中扮演的角色也让人更为好奇。

更奇怪的是，彼得森两个养女的母亲也以同样的方式去世，摔下楼梯，死于颅内出血和休克，彼得森夫妻则成了两个女儿的监护人。这位死者的自然死亡，表现得与彼得森妻子一模一样。

剧集对于悬疑氛围感的营造堪称极致，带领着观众一步步入戏，用两起案件的串联吊起观众胃口，逐步推进到结局。

《阶梯之间》本身的故事可看性极强，剧本优秀，这部剧集更具看点的另一大来源是演员的表演以及人物的设定。受害者家庭的成员关系十分复杂，这就让家族里的每个人都自带看点，尤其是男主角。

该剧主创阵容极其强大，奥斯卡影帝“脸叔”科林·菲尔斯主演，演技足以封神。大量微表情，肢体动作将人物表现得自然生动，高度还原案件中的男主人公，剧作也给了他大量的表演空间，尤其是后期他的身份隐藏着一个巨大的秘密，脸叔在这部剧中几乎达到了自己演技的巅峰状态。

此外还有《遗传厄运》中的托妮·科莱特，《权力的游戏》苏菲·特纳等纷纷加盟。烂番茄新鲜度高达94%，8集的短小体量，无疑是近期最值得追的限定剧。

2003年，陪审团最终判定彼得森有罪，直到2017年再审，凶手迈克依然拒绝承认杀妻，前后跨越16年，也算是美国历史上时间最长的悬案之一。杀妻、精英、阴谋、私情，各种标签给这个悬案披上了神秘的外衣，真相等你来发现。

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相关文章：被低估的9.3，HBO热剧《继承之战》4要回归了！

并不知道这个真实的故事，因此开头看来还是很有悬疑感，非常迫切地想要知道结局，想要知道最后的凶手。故事发展到一半，意识到与其说这个是犯罪片，不如说是个法制片。且看这个道貌岸然的伪君子和检察官们的拉扯以及最后法庭的审判等等。可是整个故事线拉的太长，后半段已经非常疲软，看的劳累看的疲倦，也就失去了很多观影乐趣。

不得不说科林叔真的演的太棒太棒了。这样一个多面性的男子是很难演绎出他内心的复杂度的。可是科林做到了。他长袖善舞，说谎不眨眼，为了选举可以随意歪曲事实。对妻子，他一方面表现的尽善尽美，一方面分明是在利用妻子的经济和资源为己所用，另外还要隐瞒自己劈腿出轨的事实。对儿女也是一样，谈不上什么父爱，也同样是利用的打压。他太熟练于这样的关系，面不改色游刃有余。可是他极其低下的道德感又能让他做出非人的行为，在满嘴甜言蜜语哄住女编导，又在重获自由后，不加丝毫掩饰或敷衍地将其一脚踢开。够狠辣，够决绝。

可是啊，正因为这个人物刻画地极好，那么问题来了。这样的人，一定等同于杀人凶手吗？大家想当然以为的，就一定是真的吗？在有很大可能放过一个犯人，和有很小的可能冤枉一个人之间，法律如何选择？

这些问题都太过难以回答。而大家对真相的渴求，也正是来自于真相往往难以大白。

在外网看到Micheal妹妹（或姐姐？）的发声，和剧集、纪录片中呈现的支持Micheal的亲人们相反，她认为自己的兄弟是有罪的。感觉可以给对事件感兴趣的豆友们一个视角，就搬运过来了。不代表个人观点，谷歌翻译加上个人审校，渣翻请大家见谅。

原文地址：

//web.archive.org/web/20060205042751/http%3A//www.justicemag.com/daily/item/1186.html

标题：当你的兄弟是凶手

Title：When Your Brother Is a Murderer

被定罪的凶手迈克尔·彼得森的姐妹向司法专栏作家凯特·库拉迪写了一封衷心的信，主题是关于被遗忘的暴力犯罪受害者。

The sister of convicted murderer Michael Peterson writes a heartfelt letter to justice columnist Katie Coolady about the forgotten victims of violent crime.

亲爱的凯蒂，

我知道您正在为犯罪受害者主题撰写专栏，我非常喜欢这个想法。我犹豫着是否与您分享，因为我不是受害者，也不是受害者的家人。我是凶手的妹妹，而我的人生也因此不可能与之前相同。

Dear Katie,

I understand that you are writing a column for victims of crimes, and I like that idea a lot. I am hesitant to share with you because I am not a victim, nor am I family of a victim. I am the sister of the murderer, and my life will never be the same.

2001 年 12 月 10 日上午 10 点，我在加利福尼亚的家中，正准备去朋友家吃早餐时，电话响了。那是我的侄子克莱顿。我很高兴接到他的电话，因为我有一段时间没有和他说话了。然后他告诉我，我的嫂子凯瑟琳——我哥哥迈克尔的妻子——在凌晨时分于她位于北卡罗琳娜州的家中的楼梯底下被发现：她从楼梯上摔下来，死了。

At 10 a.m. on December 10, 2001, I was at home in California, preparing to go to a friend's house for breakfast, when the phone rang. It was my nephew Clayton. I was happy to hear from him because I hadn't spoken to him in a while. Then he told me that my sister-in-law Kathleen, my brother Michael's wife, had been found at the bottom of a staircase in her North Caroline home in the early morning hours. She had fallen down the stairs, and she was dead.

老实说，我的第一个也是最直接的想法是：“哇，这就是发生在Liz身上的事情。” 伊丽莎白拉特利夫（笔者注：Martha和Margeret的亲生母亲）是我们家的好朋友，也是迈克第一任妻子帕蒂最好的朋友。 1985年，当他们都住在德国时，她死于楼梯坠落。她是如此亲密的朋友，以至于我的兄弟迈克尔后来帮助抚养了她的两个女儿。

Honestly, my first and immediate thought was. "Wow, that's what happened to Liz." Elizabeth Ratliff was a very good friend of our family and the best friend of Mike's first wife, Patty. In 1985, when they were all living in Germany, she had died in a staircase fall. She was such a good friend that my brother Michael had then helped raise her two daughters.

接下来涌入的想法是：凯瑟琳死了，我的上帝，这怎么可能，这太可怕了，这肯定是一场梦。

Then the next thoughts came flooding in: Kathleen is dead, my God, how can that be, this is horrible, this is a dream.

克莱顿让我开车去旧金山向伊丽莎白·拉特利夫的两个女儿之一玛莎汇报这个消息。在过去的十年里，她作为我的兄弟迈克尔及凯瑟琳的养女一起生活，她正在旧金山大学完成她的第一个学期，离我家只有 15 分钟车程。克莱顿说迈克本人非常沮丧，他不能来接电话，但后来他接了电话，简短地嘱咐我马上去找玛莎。

Clayton asked me to drive to San Francisco to break the news to Martha, one of Elizabeth Ratliff's two daughters. She had lived with my brother Michael and Kathleen as their foster child for the past decade, and she was finishing her first semester as a freshman at the University of San Francisco, just a 15-minute drive south of my house. Clayton said that Mike himself was so upset he couldn't come to the phone, but then he did, just briefly, and told me to get right over to Martha's.

取消早餐约会后，我跳进车里。当我快到金门大桥时，我的另一个侄子托德打电话来询问我的进展。我告诉他我已经安排了一位神父和宿管与我一起把消息告诉玛莎，他们在宿舍与我碰头，我们一起敲了 Martha 的门。我能听到她咯咯的笑声——毕竟，这是周六一晚上的party时光后的周日一早，她的阿姨在门后“窃听”着她。她终于让我进去了，她的咯咯笑声戛然而止，因为她看出了我举止的严肃。她的瞳孔变大了，她的室友离开了房间，我告诉她凯瑟琳死了。我告诉她，她的养母被发现死在楼梯底部（“就像你的第一任母亲一样”，我心想），我们在她的床上拥抱并抽泣。

After canceling my breakfast engagement, I jumped in my car. As I was approaching the Golden Gate Bridge, Todd, my other nephew, called to ask about my progress. I told him I had already arranged to have a priest and the dormitory's resident advisor meet me to help me give Martha the news. The priest and the RA met me in the dorm, and together we knocked on Martha's door. I could hear her giggling -- after all, here was her Aunt Ann bugging her on a Sunday morning after a Saturday night of college partying. She finally let me in, and her giggles stopped abruptly as she could see the seriousness of my demeanor. Her pupils got huge, her roommate left the room, and I told her Kathleen was dead. I told her that her foster mother was found dead at the bottom of the stairs (just like your first mom, I thought to myself) and we hugged and sobbed on her bed.

我安排那天晚上飞往东部，我让玛莎参加了期末考试并交卷，让她的朋友们帮忙收拾过寒假的行李。她和我乘坐红眼航班来到了北卡罗来纳州。

I made arrangements to fly east that night, for Martha to take her final exams and hand in her papers later, and for her friends to pack up her belongings for winter break. She and I took the red eye to North Carolina.

克莱顿和他的女朋友在机场迎接我们，我们都在华夫饼屋停下来吃早餐。然后我们去了我哥哥迈克尔的隔壁邻居家，因为我们被告知凯瑟琳的死亡现场正在接受警方的调查。我对此感到不安，但接受了它，觉得这一定是猝死现场要走的标准流程。

Clayton and his girlfriend met us at the airport, and we all stopped at Waffle House for breakfast. Then we went to my brother Michael's next door neighbor's house, because we were told that the scene of Kathleen's death was being investigated by the police. I had an uneasy feeling about that but accepted it, feeling that it must be standard protocol for sudden deaths.

当我们到达邻居家时，我们看到了我兄弟房子周围的黄色胶带。有很多警察，还有电视摄像机，这是克莱顿提醒我们的另一件事。在调查完成之前，不允许任何人进入我兄弟的房子。一天多来，警察一直在搜查他的豪宅和占地三半英亩的土地。

As we arrived at the neighbor's house, we saw the yellow tape around my brother's house. There were lots of police, and there were also TV cameras, another thing Clayton had warned us of. No one was allowed in my brother's house until the investigation was complete. Police had been searching his mansion and three-and-a-half acre grounds for over a day.

后来我们都去了我哥哥的另一个好朋友克里·萨顿的家。克里慷慨地向我们家人开放了她的房子。家人从全国各地陆陆续续赶来，加入了我、玛莎、克莱顿和托德的行列。克莱顿和托德是迈克尔第一次婚姻的儿子。玛格丽特是玛莎的妹妹，也是丽兹·拉特利夫的另一个女儿，她从新奥尔良的杜兰大学赶来。我的其他兄弟杰克和比尔来自内华达州；比尔，一位律师，是第一个到达的。凯瑟琳的姐妹们从弗吉尼亚开车南下，最后凯瑟琳的第一次婚姻的女儿凯特琳从纽约抵达，她在康奈尔大学读大二。

We all went over later to Kerry Sutton's house, another good friend of my brother's. Kerry had graciously opened up her house to our family. Family members came trickling in from across the country, joining me and Martha and Clayton and Todd, Michael's sons from his first marriage. Margaret, who is Martha's sister and Liz Ratliff's other daughter, came up from New Orleans, where she was attending Tulane. My other brothers Jack and Bill came from Nevada; Bill, a lawyer, had been the first to arrive. Kathleen's sisters drove down from Virginia and finally Caitlin, Kathleen's daughter from her first marriage, arrived from New York, where she was a sophomore at Cornell.

随着时间的流逝，我们仍然不被允许进入房子，玛格丽特问我迈克是否是凯瑟琳死亡的嫌疑人，我不知道。我哥哥比尔告诉我们，警方正在彻底调查这起死因，以防有入侵者谋杀的可能性。听到这话，我松了口气，因为这似乎是有道理的。我很高兴警方进行彻底的调查：一个年轻而充满活力的人因这种方式（笔者注：入侵者杀害）而死去似乎更合理，听到迈克不是嫌疑人，我松了一口气。玛格丽特也明显地表现出了宽慰，并接受了这个想法。

At one point, as the hours passed, and we were still not allowed access to the house, Margaret asked me if Mike was a suspect in Kathleen's death in any way. I didn't know. My brother Bill told us that the police were investigating the death thoroughly, in case there had been an intruder who might have murdered her. I was relieved to hear this, for it seemed to make sense. I was glad they were doing a thorough job. It seemed more plausible that a young and vibrant person would die this way, and I was relieved to hear that Mike was NOT a suspect. Margaret also visibly showed relief, and acceptance of this idea.

我为我的兄弟迈克感到非常难过，因为我知道他非常爱凯瑟琳。他一直是一个不安分的人，总是在寻找着什么，从不满足于他所拥有的，直到拥有了凯瑟琳。他似乎真的很满足于 48 岁的凯瑟琳，比他小 10 岁，而她是我见过的唯一一个能与他坚强的性格相匹配的人。当他表现出愤怒的一面时，她可以逗他笑。我最尊重凯瑟琳的是，她第一次真正地让玛莎和玛格丽特成为这个家庭的正式成员。在她嫁给迈克之前，女孩们并不总是参加家庭聚会和旅行，但凯瑟琳改变了这一切。而她似乎是唯一可以和我哥哥相配的人。如果他对她大喊大叫，她会说，“哦，闭嘴，迈克，”然后他们会一起爆笑。他们在一起看起来真的很幸福。我对他的损失感到非常抱歉。

I felt great sadness for my brother Mike, for I knew he loved Kathleen very much. He had always been a restless person, always looking for something, never satisfied with what he had, until Kathleen. He seemed truly content with Kathleen, who at 48 was a decade his junior, and she was the only person I ever met who could match his strong personality. She could make him laugh when he showed his angry side. What I respected most about Kathleen was that she had truly made Martha and Margaret full members of the family for the first time. Before she married Mike, the girls didn’t always come on family gatherings and trips, but Kathleen changed all that. And she seemed to be the only person who could be compatible with my brother. If he yelled at her, she would say, "Oh, just shut up, Mike," and then they would break up laughing together. They truly seemed happy together. I was very sorry for his loss.

那天深夜，我们都在邻居家庆祝了玛格丽特的 20 岁生日。我们吃蛋糕、唱歌、送礼物，分担着凯瑟琳去世这令人难以承受的悲伤。

Late that night, we all celebrated Margaret's 20th birthday at the neighbor's house. We had cake and sang and gave gifts and shared the overwhelming sadness of Kathleen's death.

接下来的日子被葬礼的各种安排填满，所有一切都是由凯瑟琳的姐妹们安排的。而此时已经很明显，尽管与我的希望相悖，但我哥哥显然是谋杀凯瑟琳的嫌疑人。一天深夜，当警察终于把房子交给我们时，第一个进去的人是克莱顿和托德，迈克的两个儿子，还有我的兄弟比尔。他们都立即开始寻找任何可能的入侵者的迹象。除了迈克——他去了自己的书房，倒腾起电脑来。

The ensuing days were filled with the funeral arrangements, all made by Kathleen's sisters. And it was now evident that, despite my hopes to the contrary, my brother was clearly a suspect in the murder of Kathleen after all. When the police finally turned the house over to us late one night, the first people who went in were Clayton and Todd, Mike's two sons, and my brother Bill. They all immediately began looking for any signs of a possible intruder. All except for Mike, who went to his office to work on his computer.

我和家人一样感到愤慨的是，我的兄弟正在被调查为可能的凶手。我以为当地的乡巴佬警察们不了解他的智慧以及有教养的生活方式。他是一位小说家和报纸专栏作家，曾撰写批评当地警察的文章。作为一个 60 年代思想自由的孩子，我认为警察腐败是一种常态。我很生气，我的兄弟受到如此可怕的对待。

I shared in the family's indignation that my brother was being investigated as a possible murderer. I thought the local hick cops didn't understand his intelligence and cultured lifestyle. He was a novelist and newspaper columnist who had written articles critical of the local police. As a liberal minded child of the '60s, I embraced the concept of police corruption as the norm. I was livid that my brother was being treated so horrifically.

我回到湾区后，我哥哥被控谋杀并入狱。我非常愤怒。我和我的亲友在蒙特雷的圣诞假期是一个非常悲伤的假期。我知道迈克在监狱里。他不仅要承受失去灵魂伴侣的悲伤，还被指控谋杀了她。我无法想象那一定是多么可怕。我从亚马逊网站为监狱里的他订购了一本弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫的小说。后者是我一生的文学导师。

After I returned to the Bay Area, my brother was indicted for murder and jailed. I was absolutely outraged. My Christmas holiday with my in-laws in Monterey was a very sad one. I knew Mike was in jail. Not only did he have to bear the sadness of losing his soulmate, he was accused of her murder. I couldn't imagine how horrible that must be. I ordered a Virginia Woolf novel from Amazon.com for him in jail. He had been my literary mentor my entire life.

当我重返工作岗位时，我的同事目睹了我对兄弟困境的悲痛和愤怒。我在加利福尼亚州里士满的低收入地区担任护士，我的同事可以共情那些与警察打交道时不公正的待遇。

When I returned to work, my co-workers witnessed my grief and my outrage about my brother's plight. I work as a nurse in a low-income area -- Richmond, California -- and my co-workers could empathize with dealing with injustice from the police.

在接下来的几个月里，我每周至少打电话给我的兄弟一次，分享我的积极想法、鼓励他、同情他。我们互相发了电子邮件。他让我了解调查的最新情况。他告诉我其他楼梯上的死亡事件，最初被认为是谋杀，后来被证明是事故。他告诉我世界著名的法医调查员来到他家，得出的结论是凯瑟琳的死绝对是一场意外。亨利·李博士（笔者注：李昌钰）几次来他家，一次是为了拍摄《20/20》。很明显，迈克有一个非常确凿的案例来证明他是无辜的，所有这些专家都可以作证。检察官吉姆·哈丁看起来像个土包子，一个头脑简单的南方律师，不可能理解我兄弟这样一个复杂人的复杂性。

In the ensuing months I would call my brother at least once a week to share my positive thoughts, to encourage him, to sympathize with him. We e-mailed each other. He kept me current with the investigation. He told me of other staircase deaths that were initially thought to be murders and later proven to be accidents. He told me of world-renowned forensic investigators who came to his house and concluded that Kathleen's death was definitely an accident. Dr Henry Lee came to his house several times, once for a filming of "20/20." It was clear that Mike had a very solid case to prove that he was innocent, with all of these experts to testify. And the prosecutor Jim Hardin seemed like such a bumpkin, a simpleminded Southern lawyer who could not possibly understand the intricacies of such a complex person as my brother.

我每天都在网上阅读新闻报道。我认为任何认为我兄弟有罪的人要么是恶意的，要么是愚蠢的。他们只知道他们读到的简单的东西。他们不认识我的兄弟。我认识我的兄弟，我知道他是无辜的。因为我认识他，我知道他是无辜的。他是我的兄弟，和我在同一个屋檐下长大，在同一个家庭被抚养成人。我知道他不是凶手。

I read the news reports online every day. I thought that any person who thought my brother was guilty was either malicious or stupid. They only knew the simple things they read. They did not know my brother. I knew my brother and I knew he was innocent. Because I knew him, I knew he was innocent. He was my brother, raised in the same household as me, raised in the same family. I knew he was not a murderer.

迈克给我发了几次关于凯瑟琳的女儿凯特琳的电子邮件。他抱怨她是多么的贪婪，她是如何试图获得凯瑟琳的人寿保险，以及她是多么想在凯瑟琳的坟墓上竖起一个华而不实的标记。凯特琳也相信迈克是有罪的。不管迈克怎么想，我都同情凯特琳。作为凯瑟琳的女儿，她应该得到她的任何遗产，即使她想在母亲的坟墓旁摆上粉红色的火烈鸟，也应该被允许。毕竟，不管是什么原因，她失去了母亲，我对她的毁灭性损失表示同情。但我也认为她认为迈克有罪是错误的，而且她也一定是头脑简单，容易被达勒姆警察操纵，以至于她看不到真相。

Mike e-mailed me several times about Kathleen's daughter Caitlin. He complained about how greedy she was, how she was trying to get hold of Kathleen's life insurance, and how she wanted to put up a gaudy marker on Kathleen's grave. And Caitlin also believed Mike was guilty. I felt sympathy for Caitlin, no matter what Mike thought. As Kathleen's daughter, she deserved any inheritance there was, and even if she wanted to put up pink flamingos on her mother's grave, she should be allowed. After all, no matter the cause, she lost her mother and I empathized with her devastating loss. But I also thought she was wrong to think Mike guilty, and that she too must be simpleminded to be so easily manipulated by the Durham police that she couldn't see the truth.

凯瑟琳的尸检回来了，裁定是他杀。我知道这个结论是错误的。我还在网上阅读了伊丽莎白·拉特利夫的原始尸检，其中描述了由于跌倒而导致的“头皮上多处深裂伤”，我心想，是的，由于从楼梯上摔下来所造成的多处裂伤。我记得在德国格拉芬豪森的伊丽莎白·拉特利夫家里那个有问题的楼梯——上面没有铺地毯而且很硬。

Kathleen's autopsy came back ruled a homicide. I knew this conclusion was wrong. I had also read online Liz Ratliff's original autopsy that described "multiple deep lacerations over the scalp" due to a fall, and I thought, yes, multiple lacerations because of a fall down the stairs. I remembered the stairs in question in Liz's house back in Grafenhausen, Germany. They were not carpeted. They were hard.

母亲节那天，我在内华达州里诺拜访了我的母亲。比尔安排了一个来自北卡罗来纳州的新闻工作人员采访我的父母。妈妈说她根本不想这么做，压力太大了，但当然，如果这对迈克有帮助，她会的。她让我坐在她身边。我不想，但我想帮助妈妈，所以我做了，不想说什么。但是当记者问我问题时，我几乎无法闭嘴。 “凯瑟琳显然是因为头皮撕裂而摔倒流血而死，”我坚持说。“我是一名有急诊室经验的护士，我知道头皮撕裂是如何流血的。”

On Mother's Day, I visited my mother in Reno, Nevada. Bill had arranged for a news crew from North Carolina to interview both my mother and father. Mom said she did not want to do it at all, it was so very stressful, but of course if it would help Mike, she would. She asked me to sit by her. I didn't want to, but I wanted to help Mom, so I did, not intending to say anything. But when the reporter asked me questions, I could barely shut up. "Kathleen obviously fell and bled to death from scalp lacerations," I insisted. "I am a nurse with emergency room experience, and I know how scalp lacerations bleed."

我暗示道凯瑟琳的头撞到金属椅子上。我坚持说迈克尔爱凯瑟琳，而 17 年前在德国以同样方式死去的丽兹是迈克的挚友。他永远不会伤害她。我非常热情地为我的兄弟辩护。

I suggested that Kathleen had hit her head on a metal chair. I insisted that he loved Kathleen, and that Liz, who had died the same way in Germany 17 years before, was Mike's dear friend. He would never hurt her. I was very passionate in defense of my brother.

我已经给老板说了，当审判开始时，我需要去北卡罗来纳州。没有什么可以阻止我为我的兄弟而存在。即使冒着失去工作的风险，只要我需要，我也会在那里，即使对他有帮助，即使是整个审判。毫无疑问，我对我兄弟的事业献身。

I had informed my boss that when the trial started, I would need to go to North Carolina. Nothing could keep me away from being there for my brother. Even at the risk of losing my job, I was going to be there for as long as I was needed, even for the entire trial if it would help him. There was no question of my devotion to my brother's cause.

几个月过去了。我每天都阅读新闻，每天都感到悲伤和愤怒。我很担心被保释的迈克。虽然我知道他可能不会被判有罪，但我知道一切皆有可能。我继续与玛莎、玛格丽特、托德和克莱顿通信。玛格丽特会要求保证迈克不会被判有罪。我不想误导她，但她不想听到任何其他的可能性。对我们的家庭来说，这是一段漫长、悲伤和不安的时光。

The months passed. I read the news daily, and sadness and outrage was with me daily. I was worried about Mike, who was out on bail. Although I knew he'd probably not be found guilty, I knew that anything was possible. I continued correspondence with Martha and Margaret and Todd and Clayton. Margaret would ask for reassurance that there was no way Mike would be found guilty. I didn't want to mislead her, but she did not want to hear of any other possibility. It was a long and sad and upsetting time for our family.

我妈妈于 2002 年 6 月去世。我去雷诺医院看她，因为她的臀部骨折了。她身体非常健康，三天前还打过桥牌。尽管患有慢性类风湿性关节炎，她仍然非常活跃。 6 月 19 日，当我离开她的病床时，她告诉我，她恐怕不会“熬过这一关”了。我说：“这太荒谬了，只是臀部骨折了。”她说她压力很大。第二天，她就去世了。

My mom died in June of 2002. I went to Reno see her in the hospital because she had broken her hip. She had been very healthy, and had played bridge just three days before. She was very active despite her chronic rheumatoid arthritis. On June 19 she told me as I left her hospital bed that she was not going to "make it through this one." I said, "That's ridiculous, it's only a broken hip." She said she was under a lot of stress. The next day she was dead.

我为迈克尔感到非常担心和难过，我让重症监护室的护士给她戴上呼吸器和起搏器，直到迈克尔可以从北卡罗来纳州回来。我解释说，他在6个月前突然失去了妻子。杰克、比尔和我看着护士们让妈妈的身体保持着活力，直到迈克晚上 10 点 30 分到达，这样他就可以吻她与她告别。然后他们解开了呼吸器。

I was so worried and sad for Michael, I had the nurses at the intensive care unit keep her on the respirator and the pacemaker until he could come from North Carolina. I explained that he had lost his wife suddenly only 6 months earlier. Jack and Bill and I watched the nurses keep Mom's body alive until Mike arrived at 10:30 pm so he could kiss her goodbye. Then they unhooked the respirator.

我在里诺的逗留是痛苦的，不仅仅是因为我母亲的突然去世，我和她非常亲近。没想到，迈克对我很残忍。如果迈克提出什么建议，比如给我生病的父亲喝一杯酒，而我反对，迈克会恶毒地攻击我。“听着，甜心，”他会咆哮道，“在这里并不是你说了算。”他甚至对爸爸让我开车而不是他而感到愤怒。迈克的一些口头攻击让我颤抖和流泪。

My stay in Reno was traumatic, and not just because of the sudden loss of my mother, to whom I was very close. Unexpectedly, Mike was very cruel to me. If Mike proposed something, like giving my ailing father a drink of liquor, and I opposed it, Mike would turn on me viciously. "Listen, sweetheart," he'd growl, "you're not calling the shots around here." He was even furious that Dad would let me drive his car but not him. Some of Mike's verbal attacks left me in trembling and in tears.

当我回到家时，我向我的朋友和公婆描述了他的行为。“他真是个混蛋，”我说。“他当然不是杀人犯，但他就是个混蛋。”到那时，我怀疑我的很多朋友都认为他是凶手，但没有人敢在我周围发出这样的想法。甚至没有人敢提出这样一种可能性。尽管他在里诺对我很残忍，尽管我觉得奇怪的是，一个因谋杀女人而面临审判的男人会让自己如此残暴地对待另一个女人——况且是在公共场合——这对我来说，仍然不可能相信他有杀人的能力。正如我所说，我坚定而热情地为他辩护。

When I returned home, I described his behavior to my friends and in-laws. "He's such an asshole," I said. "He's not a murderer, of course, but he's such an asshole." By then I suspected that lot of my friends thought he WAS a murderer, but no one dared voice that thought around me. No one dared even suggest it as a possibility. Despite his cruelty toward me in Reno, and despite the fact that I found it strange that a man facing trial for murdering a woman would let himself be so abusive to another woman -- in public, no less -- it was still impossible for me to believe he was capable of murder. As I said, I was adamant and passionate in my defense of him.

然后在 10 月下旬的一天，我在工作时接到了我哥哥比尔的电话。杰克也上线了。比尔说他刚刚看到了案件的完整报告，所有将在审判中使用的证据，而迈克的境况看起来并不好。比尔和杰克想从我患有严重痴呆症的父亲那里拿走 17.5万美元，以帮助支付庭审费用。迈克的第一任妻子帕蒂也借给他同样的金额。他说，这笔借款是由迈克房子的留置权担保的。

Then one day in late October, I got a phone call at work from my brother Bill. Jack was also on the line. Bill said that he had just seen the full report on the case, all the evidence that would be used at trial, and things didn't look good for Mike. Bill and Jack wanted to take $175,000 from my father, who had severe dementia, to help with the costs of the trial. Mike's first wife Patty was lending him the same amount. The loan was secured, he said, by the lien on Mike's house.

比尔分享了证据。在凯瑟琳的裤子后面发现了迈克带血的脚印。她的血溅在他的短裤的内侧。他是双性恋，最近的表现几乎印证了他完全是同性恋。而且还有一份价值140万美元的人寿保险单，而麦克是受益人。迈克获胜的情况比他最初想象的要难得多。接着，比尔挂断了电话。

Bill shared the evidence. Mike's bloody footprint was found on the back of Kathleen's pants. Her blood splatter was found up inside his shorts. He was bisexual and had been more recently pretty much exclusively homosexual. There was a $1.4 million life insurance policy with Mike as the benefactor. It would be harder case for Mike to win than he had initially thought. Then Bill hung up.

突然间，我的生活发生了变化。我能感觉到我的思想打开了。裂缝扩大了，一些念头、想法和后知后觉涌入。我又想起了1985年在德国的伊丽莎白·拉特利夫家的楼梯。这甚至不是一个完整意义上的楼梯，从中跌落仅意味着笔直地着陆。她是怎么得到多处深裂伤的？我重读了她的尸检报告。在 1985 年她从楼梯上摔下来时，并没有没有发现任何体内血管破裂作为动脉瘤破裂的证据（笔者注：德方当时出具的尸检报告中伊丽莎白·拉特利夫的死因为动脉瘤破裂）。这怎么可能？

And suddenly, my life shifted. I could feel my mind open up. The crack widened and thoughts and ideas and realizations flowed in. I thought of Liz Ratliff's staircase in Germany in 1985 again. It wasn't even a full flight of stairs. It just led to a landing. How DID she get multiple deep lacerations? I re-read Liz's autopsy. There was no ruptured blood vessel found as evidence of the ruptured aneurysm she supposedly had that caused that fall down the stairs in 1985. How could that be?

实际上只有一种合理的解释。

第二天我给哥哥杰克打电话。我和杰克可以无所顾忌，我解释了我曾对迈克不可动摇的信念发生了什么。然后我给比尔打电话。“我的上帝，比尔，”我说，“也许是他干的。”“你究竟想说什么？”比尔厉声说道。我们的谈话就这样结束了。我想我没有想说什么。

There was really only one reasonable conclusion.

I phoned my brother Jack the next day. I can talk to Jack, and I explained what was happening to my unshakeable belief in Mike. Then I phoned Bill. "My God, Bill," I said, "Maybe he did it." "What's your point?" snapped Bill. That was the end of our conversation. I guess I had no "point".

我不理解这种态度。从那时起，我的家人选择不理我。一位家庭成员告诉我，无论如何都要捍卫家庭，无论如何。另一个家庭成员告诉我，即使迈克进了监狱，凯瑟琳和丽兹都不会起死回生。

I didn't understand this attitude. From that point on, my family chose to ignore me. I was told by a family member that one defends a family no matter what. No matter what. I was told by another family member that if Mike went to jail it wouldn't bring either Kathleen or Liz back.

我的生活发生了变化。我感到非常孤独。我保持沉默，我给迈克的电话和电子邮件也停止了。

My life had changed. I felt very alone. I kept silent, and my phone calls and e-mails to Mike stopped.

2 月，比尔要求杰克和我同意再用爸爸的 35 万美元为迈克辩护。我父亲在精神上没有能力批准或反对。我说拿他的钱是公然不道德和错误的，我不同意比尔的提议。迈克立即打电话给我发电子邮件说我很贪心，我只关心我的遗产。这与他对继女凯特琳所说的无比相似。那是我与哥哥迈克的最后一次交流。

In February, Bill asked that Jack and I approve using another $350,000 of Dad's money for Mike's defense. My dad was not mentally competent to approve or object. I said it would be blatantly unethical and wrong to take his money, and didn't agree to Bill's proposal. Mike immediately phoned and e-mailed me to say I was greedy, and that I only cared about my inheritance. It was similar to what he had said about his stepdaughter Caitlin. That was the last communication I ever had with my brother Mike.

审判开始时，我在电视上看到我全家在法庭上，我的兄弟、侄女、侄子和前嫂子帕蒂。三个多月来，我每天都在法院电视上观看庭审。我看着比尔接受电视采访，说全家人是如何支持迈克的。我看到他说迈克永远不会这样做。我看了很多对我所有家人和迈克的采访。

When the trial started, I saw my entire family in the courtroom on TV, my brothers and nieces and nephews and former sister-in-law Patty. I watched the trial on Court TV every day for more than three months. I watched Bill give TV interviews and say how the entire family supported Mike. I watched him say that Mike would never ever do this. I watched many interviews with all my family members and Mike.

我试着和比尔说话。我试图告诉他迈克是一个需要控制的危险人物。我坚定地认为迈克无法控制自己，就像病人或疯狗一样，他需要被收容。我害怕迈克。比尔不理我。没有人听我的。

I tried to talk to Bill. I tried to tell him that Mike was a dangerous person who needed to be controlled. I had decided that Mike couldn't control himself. Like a sick person or a rabid dog, he needed to be contained. I was afraid of Mike. Bill ignored me. No one listened to me.

然后，我打破了公开的沉默，与《达勒姆先驱太阳报》的汤姆·加斯帕罗利交谈。众所周知，加斯波实际上在报纸上占据了迈克曾经的旧专栏。我告诉加斯波，我认为我哥哥有罪。 “我仍然希望我认为他是无辜的，”我告诉他。 “如果我这么想，生活会轻松很多。”该专栏于 2003 年 9 月 7 日开始发表，而当时的迈克正在接受审判。那天之后，除了杰克，我的大多数家人都不再和我交流了。我成了一个局外人。

Then I broke my public silence to speak to Tom Gasparoli of the Durham Herald-Sun. Gaspo, as he is known, had actually taken Mike's old column at the paper. I told Gaspo that I thought my brother was guilty. "I still wish I thought he was innocent," I told him. "Life would be a lot easier if I thought that." The column ran on September 7, 2003, while Mike was on trial. Most of my family, all except for Jack, quit communicating with me after that day. I became an outcast.

有罪判决于 10 月 10 日到来。我很惊讶，但意识到尽管有一百万美元的辩护，正义得到了伸张，它表明司法系统确实有效。因为即便一个人富有、白种人、有口才、有教养、聪明，还花费了超过一百万美元，他并不总是能逃脱法网。这是对美国司法系统的致敬。

The guilty verdict came in on October 10. I was surprised, but realized that despite a million dollar defense, justice was served. If anything, it shows that the justice system really does work. Because a person is rich and white and well-spoken and cultured and intelligent and spends over a million dollars, he doesn't always get off. It is a tribute to the justice system in America.

在审判中，辩方谈到了合理的怀疑（笔者注：reasonable doubt）：没有凶器、没有证人。但是有压倒性的证据，而辩方从未正面回应过这个问题。迈克的辩护者们仍然不能（扳倒这些证据）。没有人能解释凯瑟琳脖子前面的软骨骨折，除非是企图勒死的证据。没有人能解释为什么她整个身体上唯一的伤就是头部深深的裂伤和前臂背部的瘀伤。其他地方没有发现瘀伤作为跌倒的证据。丽兹·拉特利夫也是如此。但迈克的捍卫者们一再重复“合理怀疑”。没有人说那天晚上到底发生了什么。毛巾是怎么落到她头下的？擦血是什么时候完成的？凯瑟琳的尸体是怎么翻过来的？没有提供任何答案，仅有“合理的怀疑。”

At trial the defense spoke of reasonable doubt. No murder weapon. No witness. But there was overwhelming evidence, and the defense never addressed that. Mike's defenders still can't. No one can explain the fractured cartilage in the front of Kathleen's neck, except as evidence of a strangulation attempt. No one can explain why the only injuries on her entire body are the deep head lacerations and bruises on the backs of her forearms. No bruises are noted elsewhere as evidence of a fall. The same was true of Liz Ratliff. But Mike's defenders repeat and repeat and repeat "reasonable doubt." Not one person has said what really happened that night. How did towels get under her head? When was the wiping up of blood done? How did Kathleen's body get turned over? No answers get provided. "There was reasonable doubt."

我知道大多数人无法想象他们的兄弟或儿子或父亲可能是冷血杀手。但是每个凶手都有兄弟姐妹和父母。毕竟，杀人犯究竟长什么样子？

I know that most people cannot imagine that their brother or son or father could be a cold-blooded murderer. But every murderer has sisters and brothers and mothers and fathers. After all, what does a murderer look like?

有时我会遇到认识迈克的人。他们看到他的口才和魅力，他们说他不是凶手。这让我很困扰。凶手如果不可能是看起来婚姻幸福的白人、富有、聪明、有教养？那他们看起来应该是怎么样的？

Sometimes I encounter people who have met Mike. They see how well-spoken and charming he is, and they say that he's no murderer. That bothers me a lot. Murderers aren't white, rich, intelligent, cultured men who appear to have happy marriages? What do they look like?

我如果相信我的兄弟是司法系统的受害者而他被错误地指控，那我会是一个平静得多的人。那至少对我来说“更说得通一些”。而知道他确实做了对我而言要难得多。这需要很大的力量。但我睁开眼睛，看着事实和真相。非常痛苦，令人难以置信。我被迫重新审视我的生活，并意识到在过去的 20 年里，我一直生活在这样一个男人的陪伴中，这个男人残忍地谋杀了我的一个朋友，一个美丽善良的女人，然后又谋杀了另一个女人，他美丽、充满活力的妻子。我无法逃避真相。这通常很痛苦，但对我来说却是必要的。

I was a much calmer person believing that my brother was the victim of the justice system, that he was wrongly accused. That at least made sense to me. It is much more difficult for me to know that he did it. It takes a lot of strength. But I opened my eyes and looked at the facts and truth. It is very painful, and it is mind-boggling. I have been forced to reexamine my life, and realize that for the last 20 years that I have been living in the company of a man who brutally murdered a friend of mine, a beautiful, kind-hearted woman, and then murdered another woman, his beautiful, vibrant wife. I can't run away from truth. It is often painful, but it is necessary for me.

Ann Christensen（左）| Michael Peterson（右）

不看后悔的口碑限定剧，也是脸叔时隔25年回归小银幕之作，女主由金球奖电视类音乐/喜剧类剧集最佳女主角托妮·科莱特饰演，还惊喜地看到了越来越美的Sophie!

俗话说，不怕纯属虚构，就怕真事改编。我一边紧张追剧，一边总结了这些使用的口语表达分享给你——

1 ETA 预计到达时间

ETA 的全称是：estimated time of arrival 预计到达时间，What'syourETA? 你预计什么时间到达？

2 shit-faced 烂醉的

shitfaced= extremely drunk 喝得烂醉、不省人事，喝得酩酊大醉还可以说：dead drunk/ wasted/ hammered, 有点醉意可以说：I'm a bit buzzed/ I'm a little tipsy.

3 see past sth. 不被某事影响

see past sth. 直译是看透，意思是不被某事影响或改变自己的观点，hiccup 打嗝，引申为小问题， Michael 早年可以说自信满满，认为选民们不会因为小小的性格问题就放弃支持自己。

4 keep head above water 勉强应付

这个表达很好理解，让头部保持在水面上才能保证不被淹死，当我们遇到糟糕的事情尤其是财务上的困境时，就可以用这句。Thebusinessis introuble, but we are just aboutkeepingourheadsabovewater. 公司遇到了一些问题，但我们还得勉强应付下去。

5 witch hunt 政治迫害

witch hunt这个词常常在美国政治相关语境中出现，字面意思是猎杀女巫，现在用来形容对持不同政见、或非常规观点者进行的打击与迫害。

在欧洲中世纪，女巫被视为是邪恶的、利用巫术(witchcraft)害人的异类，因此女巫被愤怒的民众逮到后，常遭受极刑。猎巫行为本来就是为了转移社会矛盾而把弱势人群当做替罪羊，所谓的女巫都是无辜的受害者。

美国前总统特朗普就把针对他的弹劾称为: witch hunt:" The Greatest Witch Hunt In American History!"

6 blurt sth. out 脱口而出

这个短语很好记，blurt不假思索地冲口而出，blurt sth. out 就是脱口而出。

Don'tblurt. 别多嘴。

Shesuddenlyblurted out, "I can't do it!" 她突然脱口而出道“我不能做这件事。”

7 empty nest 空巢

空巢一词源于英文，顾名思义就是“空寂的巢穴”，比喻小鸟离巢后的情景，被引申为子女离开后家庭空寂。 empty nester 空巢老人，empty nest syndrome 空巢综合症，指父母因子女长大离家而郁郁寡欢。

8 I'm home cooking 我搞砸了

这个表达很有意思，home cooking 字面意思是在家做饭，通常在家做饭的时候，我们只是把食材混在一起，边做边看需要加什么料。这里是委婉地表达“没有做好计划就去做某事”。

9 lock and load 重装上阵

lock 锁，引申为闭锁，load装载，引申为上膛，lock and load 枪机闭锁、子弹上膛——准备战斗，也用来表示为即将发生的事情做好准备。

10 be out of the loop 圈外人

loop 圆圈，be out of the loop 在圈外面，不是圈内人，得到的消息也滞后。

与之对应的圈内人、消息灵通人士，则用 be in the loop 来表示。

You cantellshe's in the loop. She alwaysknowsaboutpolicydecisionsbefore therestof us.

她很明显是圈内人。她总是在我们所有人之前就知道政策决定。

如果你也喜欢本剧，不妨帮我点个赞吧，赞多的话我来继续更新～

｜本文作者：枫叶依蓝

｜审校编辑：Juliet

｜总 编：大风哥Wind

对于任何打算购买复式/别墅等带楼梯房产的小伙伴来说，本剧几乎可以说是必看啊，劝退作用明显……

玩笑放一边，本剧质量颇高，但真正看懂并不轻松，伦理方面也颇有值得商榷之处。为本剧写剧评同样也是一项繁重的工作，因为：

1. 本剧所本的真实案件情状离奇，案发20多年后的今天仍未有定论。因为疑点多且关注度高，相关的各种阴谋论也多。

2. 案件司法程序漫长而复杂，案发后16年间历经起诉、判决、两次上诉、发回重审、辩诉交易，若要弄懂需要掌握一定程度的美国刑事诉讼法知识。

3. 早先有法国剧组将本案拍摄成了长篇同名纪录剧集，总共13集之多。下文分析中你会发现，本片其实默认你对纪录片滚瓜烂熟。在纪录片和本剧之间加以对比，是深刻理解以及客观公允评价本剧的必须。

4. 海量周边信息。本案中的家庭组成复杂，剧中出场人物众多，简介一笔带过，不预习和复习是会留下诸多局部蒙圈的。而且，多年至今围绕本案、纪录片、以及本剧有大量媒体报导、访谈、揭秘、分析，内容极其丰富。

在以上背景之下，难上加难的是本剧还有着严肃的艺术追求，相比之下不是特别照顾观众的观剧难度（或者不如说故意增加了观剧难度）。应该说编导的态度是很“正”的：他们将观众视为至少与自己同等聪明、专注和渊博（以及闲得蛋痛）。因此本剧的正确打开方式，是连着13集纪录片一起多次全刷加多次点刷，反复甄别比对，记下长篇笔记，并大量搜索阅读背景资料。

纪录片曾被案发家庭的邻居、案发地点附近杜克大学的法学教授列为美国司法系统教学的补充学习材料；对本剧的研究探讨则大概足以撑起一门大学课程的大部分了。本剧大大超出了纪录片的范畴，在纪录片的摄像机不在之处，补充了大量夫妻亲子关系、子女片外经历、纪录片拍摄剪辑的幕后故事以及关于……猫头鹰的内容，令几年前看过纪录片的我瞋目结舌。

而即便纪录片拍摄过的内容，本剧也加以再创造，有时严重与纪录片中的真实情况相左，其动机、效果与余波容后他篇细论。

顺便说一句，纪录片的初衷并非寻找真相，而是检视美国司法系统的运作。本剧的初衷也并非寻找真相，而是探索“真相”的意义，以及思考“平和接纳真相之阙如”意味着什么。片中对“Truth”的点题之论散见各处，似乎每个角色都有哲思一刻（a philosophical moment）。女剪辑师的探讨最为集中和凸显：所谓真实就是对相互竞争的不同故事的选择。本剧借各角色之口对这个议题的处理倘若展开够再写一篇的，所以这里就不展开了吧。

本篇先讨论本剧创作特点。计划后续各篇再讨论人物刻画、真实案情、审判过程，以及剧外回响和伦理问题。

本剧最大创作特点有以下几个：闪回、暗套、隐喻。当然每个特点都增加了观剧难度，下面逐一分析。

闪回

2017年2月24日，男主赴法院达成辩诉交易，获得自由。本剧首集以当日清晨男主在床上醒来开始，末集以当日夜晚男主回到床上准备就寝而结束，历时不过一日晨昏之间。在此一日的时间线之下，回溯性的兵分两路将另外两条时间线做频繁交叉的推进：一条是女主死前数月推进到死前几小时，另一条是女主死后推进到辩诉交易。然而还不止于此：时而又在此三条时间线之上做进一步的局部爆切。

这有点让人想起王小波在访谈中讲到他写《黄金时代》的方法：在电脑文档中反复挪动不同段落的先后顺序看效果；有时观感也令人联想到电影《Tenet》当中的大场面：熵增和熵减部队配合发动进攻，现场正爆反爆好不热闹。

时间切换的同时，当然还有地点切换：从辩方到控方，从北卡到德国到巴黎。大的时间线初次切换还给个文字提示，之后切来切去就连提示都没有，靠观众阅读理解了，偶尔还卖弄点小误导小落差的小聪明。

其实总体而言，这凌厉繁复的剪切刀法还是精彩的，至少有以下好处：

1. 令不同场景跨越时空相互折射、映衬、生发出细味。例如辩诉交易当日虽也一波三折，但哪比得上16年来跌宕起伏、百感交集、心债累累。因此将巨量过往置于终局当日的总框架下来呈现，将一切都沁入了厚重、沧桑的况味。又如第二集中”死前线“里女主目睹筹资会上的舞蹈而触动心弦，耳语丈夫说自己疲惫刻骨，一切而入”死后线“里专家在楼梯播放音频测试传播距离，一个女声反复呼叫着“Help me”。此中悲恸，不言而喻。

2. 收集并集中展现彼此相通的情绪，形成复调的咏叹。典型的是第六集中男主法律救济穷尽，走到自戕边缘，切入小女儿的心理治疗、儿子戒酒参加AA，这一家子里的不同成员都在人生低点中苦苦挣扎自救。

3. 灵活调整节奏和选取内容。例如2011年的重审听证会和2017年的辩诉交易法庭程序，女主的姐姐均要求发言，厉声控诉。其中2011年她除了呵斥男主，还指责辩方律师对她压迫、检察官准备不足、纪录片对她抹黑，已经有点受迫害妄想症了。这些都完整呈现在纪录片里，全剪入实无必要，半剪又不好下刀。剧中做法是将两次发言择要混剪，巧妙解决了这一问题，还凸显出重复中的一丝往还、疲惫、陈旧与宿命味道。

暗套

剧中暗暗布下许多“门道”，功课没有做够、满足于单刷或注意力不集中非常容易漏掉，几乎如同在和观众打哑谜。例如：

暗套一、吹火棍。首集案发男主被逮捕后的圣诞节，女主姐姐家在壁炉前用吹火棍的镜头切到男主家里孩子在壁炉前”以脚试火“。看似一个剪辑小技巧，这里其实是在暗示男主家的同款吹火棍不见了。然而吹火棍被检方认定为疑似凶器、其搜查及失踪直到第三集开头才出现。除了对案情早已倒背如流的你，这时还有谁记得第一集的这两个短暂画面呢？

暗套二、那年七月。第四集中女主死前三周开车送子吵起架来，说仍为七月的事生气，此事很严重。然而七月何事？要等到同集若干闪回之后，律师模拟交叉质证（儿子拟出庭作证讲述吹火棍发现经过），盘问儿子的过往历史，才点破国庆节时他物理攻击（或推搡）了女友，后者报警（两人后来和好并婚育）。这样处理无疑紧凑简洁而略带悬念，但就是需要你看剧不忘记笔记。编导好像在说：看我们剪得这么碎，不就是给你玩拼图用的么？（剧中女剪辑师确实有玩拼图，隐喻其探索真相的过程，但何尝不也是隐喻本剧呢？）

暗套三、听鸟望天。在第四集和末集中，女主和男主分别在别墅门口下车，听到鸟叫而仰视。镜头竖起又落下，人物进别墅走上楼梯遇见可心的小意外——女主发现男主给她准备了按摩，而男主发现女主在为晚会化妆而与之云雨。这一整段的地点构图运镜基本相同，听到的鸟叫（当然都是后期加的）却不相同：女主听到咕咕声，男主则听到一点嘶叫。哪一次是发情的猫头鹰鹰呢？问题在于猫头鹰理论是第六集才明朗的。这样到第八集男主的那段你就get到此中张力了，但能不能想起人家的伏线已经埋了超级久的呢？

第四集女主望天……她的注意力很快就转到老公车副驾座位上的润滑剂上去了。

末集男主望天。

暗套四、车内听音乐。最后一个例子对剧情非常关键。男主在车里“听完整首歌”的情境，出现过四次：

(1) 首次是第四集，男主在纪录片镜头前陶醉的描述自己对古典乐的喜爱，说起童年观看棒球赛后在父亲车上收音机听到马勒5号首章，车到而坚持听完。他提起父亲心情不好，也许是因为棒球赛输掉，急于归宅饮酒。与这轻描淡写的描述形成反差的则是闪回的童年画面，孩童分明青着一只眼，父亲神色愠怒而母亲凝重。

(2) 第二次是第七集末尾，夫妻争吵中，语锋凌厉，女主不仅攻击男主的价值，并且隐晦点到其性向（说他唯一作用是讨好酒保）。当晚二人由女主开车，一路狂飙归宅（隐喻女主是揸fit人而男主只能受其暴怒左右），男主也坚持留在车上把音乐听完，还对宅内大战蝙蝠的女主用手模拟枪击。

(3) 第三次是末集中间，2011年男主获得重审机会，但多年牢狱生涯、听证会上遭女主姐姐怒斥，加之庭审又将重演，重压之下因胸中怒苦而难支，出现孩童坐车上以及父亲神色愠怒的短暂闪回。

(4) 第四次是末集最后的采访，即将辩诉交易获得自由的男主在脆弱一刻对纪录片镜头讲起了“棒球故事”。原来车内音乐之前，男主和男生“做尝试”被父亲撞见。因此车内一幕实际上标志着男主人格遭到极大侮辱之后内心情感的剧烈激荡。至此最后一块拼图入位，杀人动机令人信服的呈现了出来。

顺便解读一下第七集末尾老夫妻这一顿饭（二人自同居起已相守十余年，结婚五年）：女主本因未被解雇而意图庆祝，同时也怀着为家庭无私奉献而令自己内心干涸的苦楚，见男主自私不领情，反责备自己不似年轻时那般可人，内心涌起巨大的委屈和愤怒，攻击男主事业失败且影射他热心偷男人。这本是夫妻间最敏感的“不可言说”，点破带来两人关系的巨大破裂。男主暮年作为作家是不成功的（改编权只卖了10万美元，已经值得庆祝一番），两次竞选公职也均告失败，只有讨好老婆来要钱资助孩子，是颇为落魄也想必敏感的。对不可言说的点破令他在情感上如同重返童年噩梦，恨意既深且巨。

所以你看老夫妻吵架真的不必很大声，就可以极伤人，因为彼此心债太重、了解太深。所以你看表演极端的愤怒也不一定就要鼻孔喷张、面容扭曲、大声怒吼，而是可以采用这样隐忍迂回的方式。所以你看这部剧集就是不让你顺序看到A+B=C，而是先给你看个a一脸懵，然后隔几个小时给你看个B全无感，下一集来个a’一闪而过，最后才揭晓A，至于加起来是不是等于C仍然留给你自己去猜。

所以你看你不是也来加入这个寻找“真相”的过程了吗？那么拼图好玩吗？

每集的标题也是解谜线索：

首集叫《911》。案发于911报警电话，也恰在“911”世贸大楼撞机事件后不久（9月v12月）。剧中也特意加了守在老婆病床前的男主指向电视播放撞机镜头，以及后来晚会中一闪而过的911事件纪念角。

第二集叫《翼手目》，蝙蝠就是这个目下面的。该集讲了女主困扰于蝙蝠问题，这个下文细讲。

第三集叫《大伪善家》，出自集内女主之口：丈夫先是严摆对前妻的姿态，然后安排按摩来讨好自己，最终令自己明知入瓮而心软难以拒绝，真是大伪善家。

第四集叫《常识》，集内特意令控辩双方在内部讨论中都提到要争取陪审团的“常识”。

第五集叫《跳动之心》，集内纪录片首映受赞，导演对女剪辑师说：你是本项目之心。

第六集叫《红牙血爪》，英文成语，指自然界的残酷无情。本集模拟了猫头鹰攻击女主的过程。

第七集叫《找而你将》，语出《圣经》：找，而你将找到。本集女剪辑师追寻真相，结果知道了更多男主的隐秘放荡生活，探监时哭诉，男主忙表忠心。（检方是一早知道男主放荡生活的，但出于顾虑未将其呈堂，而女剪辑师是此时才知。）

第八集叫《美国甜心或：时上之时》。美国甜心是案发当晚两人租看的电影，时上之时多半是多义语，至少一层可能是指2011与2017两次庭上程序的叠加剪辑。

更多暗套欢迎补充。本篇的最后说说：

隐喻

前面已经提到拼图，这里讲讲动物。本剧除了猫头鹰是可能的元凶，另出现了蝙蝠和鹿。二者皆常见于我国古代雕饰，谐音福与禄。毕竟我国自古就是个吃木耳以清肺、泡虎鞭以壮阳的谐音梗大国，近年来的民俗文化发展之一是平安夜吃苹果……

扯远了。鹿被女主撞倒，警察给了它仁慈一枪。鹿又何辜，终免此苦。而女主遭受脑后撕裂伤，在痛苦和绝望中缓慢失血而亡，无人搭救，连仁慈一枪也没有，何其悲惨。

蝙蝠是横亘全剧的大隐喻。它象征什么呢？首先你看这是一个老宅里逐步恶化的祸患，令老宅渐渐无法运作如常。其次它常常是若隐若现的，只闻其声，不见其形；虽未经实证，却不容置疑。而真的迎面撞见，那则是惊心动魄的、撕心裂肺的、伤筋动骨的。最后你看这蝙蝠，既像鸟能飞，又属于哺乳动物；连“翼手目”这词，也是既翼，又手……这是一个横跨两界、两边通吃的动物呀！

第二集中筹款会上的舞者们，大多身着黑衣，彼此穿插翩跹，快速扇动手臂，他们是不是有点像某种动物呢？女主观之颇受触动，真情流露有脆弱一刻。随着婚姻中的潜流渐渐无法忽视，蝙蝠之害也愈演愈烈。当女主向男主点破真相之夜，也是她鼓起勇气大战蝙蝠之时。当大量蝙蝠终于从老宅破窗而出，景象颇为壮观，男主在楼外车中也惊惧不已。蝙蝠无法消灭，只能迁走，但需花钱。老房子不仅可能着火，还可能生蝙蝠。而她与蝙蝠，则必有一战。

由此回望作为一种戏剧手段的隐喻：将难以名状之物转变为具象化的可触，同时也升华为抽象化的象征，互文而又隽永。剧中前后两场现代舞，也正是对于人类内心情感挣扎的具象化。儿女们分乘三车陪父投案的长镜头是对后来家人分道扬镳的具象化；重审听证前法院电梯门的滑动关闭则是对亲人决裂的具象化。电梯门当然是不会一次过关上的：两团人间的亲情如此纷纷，电梯门一定要切、切、切切切切切。

（未完待续）

首先梳理一下时间线：Peterson和亡妻于1988年开始同居，1992年买了后来成为案发地的房产。1997年两人结婚。2001年12月9日案发，11天后Peterson即被起诉收监，2002年1月保释。2002年10月，女方的生女Caitlin对男方提起民事诉讼并最终获得2500万美元判赔。2003年6月德国居住时的邻居尸体被挖出进行尸检，2003年7月开庭。2003年10月，陪审团评议四天后作出了有罪判决。

2008年8月，Peterson一家的邻居开了个新闻发布会，公开宣布了猫头鹰杀人的理论。

2011年9月，因专家证人Deaver的污点被揭露，Peterson获得了重审机会，并居家监禁，几年后取掉了踝部定位环。2017年2月24日，他作出了Alford Plea，获得自由。2019年，Peterson和前妻搬到了一起（现在住在一处没有楼梯的公寓中）。

纪录片则是在2002年2月开拍，2004年本案两次上诉之间首发了两小时版本，2005年发布完整8集。2011年男主戏剧性的获得重审机会，剧组跟踪拍摄并在2012年发布了两小时更新内容，后辑为纪录片的第9、10集。2017年男主辩诉交易获得自由，2018年，Netflix购买了全系列10集纪录片并签约剧组多做3集，该年四月先在翠贝卡电影节首映，夏天在Netflix上线。

Peterson杀妻了吗？

先来看看纪录片导演的说法。他在翠贝卡电影节首映后的观众见面会上回答了这个问题。相关报导值得整段翻译如下：

虽然他当初并非想要找出Peterson有罪还是无辜的真相，但他确实形成了自己的观点：他不相信Peterson杀害了自己的妻子。”我们当晚并不在场，所以我们不能假装我们知道发生了什么“，de Lestrade对翠贝卡电影节观众们说，”每个人可能都有自己的观点或感受，但对于我来说，并没有什么强大的证据被呈现出来证明Peterson杀了他的妻子。我的立场就是如此。“

导演是文化人，又拍了跨度16年、共13集的罪案纪录片（发誓再也不拍纪录片了），措辞是很严谨的，而报道者则明显缺乏相关素养，囫囵弄了个满拧。导演的话总结一下就是：做没做不知道，但证据不足够。

在此不妨引用Danzel Washington在影片《Training Day》里说的台词：问题不是你做了什么，而是你在法庭上能证明什么！

没有证据，意味着无法证明、无法定罪，但并不意味着没有发生。基于此，纪录片肯定要保持一个中立的立场，绝对会努力避免引导观众得出一个确切的结论。也是基于此，本剧也不会给出确切结论，但剧中虚构的情节不但补全了杀人的合理动机，而且加入种种暗示，态度十分暧昧。

对于”在法庭上能证明什么“，纪录片在全案了结后采访到了法官。这短短几分钟出现在13集纪录片的几乎最尾声，可以说信息量是很大的。法官表示，回看本案，当初有些做法不妥，重审的话他会作出不同的选择：德国楼梯事件将不会被允许入证，Peterson性向问题也不会被允许入证。这些证据含义未明，却容易造成对Peterson的偏见。对于德国楼梯事件，本剧借同为律师的男主哥哥之口评论到：法律界同行一致认为这显然不应被允许呈现给陪审团。对于Peterson性向问题，在上诉中，上诉庭已裁决搜查中拿走他的电脑是违宪的。背后道理是，只有存在迹象令警方合理怀疑电脑与本案有关，才能检查电脑，否则侵犯了他的隐私权。电脑得不到的话，性向问题也就无从谈起了。

从初审可见，上面这两个点正是控方大加渲染、丑化Peterson的关键。陪审员后来也有人表示，受到这两点很大的影响才认定他有罪。去掉这两点，他应当是显著的更容易脱罪了。就连法官也在纪录片中表示，再审一次的话，是有可能建立”合理怀疑“（reasonable doubt）的。

然而本案沸沸扬扬多年，这些故事公众皆知，谁知道他们对Peterson会怎么看，对案件会如何认定呢？鉴于此，也为了避免又要多年缠斗，Peterson选择了辩诉交易。

那么真相呢？退一步看：

1. Peterson与亡妻公认恩爱，相伴十余年，子女绕膝，会痛下杀手么？何况这是一个每晚全家一起吃饭的亲密家庭，女儿们和妈妈无话不谈，子女都对父母的婚姻健康表示认可，这是有说服力的。然而现实中又确有发生多年夫妻一朝反目，丈夫杀害妻子的事件，怎能确信这不是又一宗此类案件呢？

2. Peterson与前妻、长女的关系都是可证的不错。前妻曾在纪录片中受访，谈吐上佳，从事教职，是位知识女性。她离婚后仍与Peterson共同抚养二子，案件中始终支持他，案后又与他破镜重圆，现居一起。本剧播出后，长女接受电话采访还把父亲电话接入，父女关系看来还是可以的。这些女性是否可以视作是用实际行动做了Peterson的品质证人？

3. 从始至终，并无迹象显示Peterson是个暴力的人。竞选公职并且说谎贴金是有一点野心和虚荣心，但和杀人并无直接关系。老夫妻之间不论是事业成败还是性向秘密，是否会引发暴力？

对于案件本身的细节，网友的分析不少，我觉得有些怕是属于脑洞开得比较大。我也有自己的疑问，在纪录片第9集重审听证会上接手的女检察官的陈词总结得很好：墙上血迹不知被谁清理过（后来出问题的血迹专家还说过在血迹被擦拭后，上面又添了新的溅血点）；Peterson鞋上有溅血，而仰面尸体的小腿背面印有Peterson的血脚印；其短裤裆部内面有向上方向的溅血。Peterson没有坐上证人席，无法在庭上给出自己的解释，但他在纪录片中也没有解释。

由于缺乏强有力的证据，我们的分析大概只能止于人性的深不可测。如本剧当中纪录片导演所说：若相信他做得出，等于相信我们都做得出。

猫头鹰理论

2008年，在Peterson穷尽司法救济、终身监禁不得假释，而重审机会尚未浮现时，美国好邻居开新闻发布会宣布了自己对于本案的假说：猫头鹰杀人说。

这一假说对于本剧探讨的主题——真相——是相关的，因此剧中对此加以详细介绍并基于此假说而虚拟了整个案发过程。真实世界中，尸检报告的确指出死者的一只手中夹有松针，双手都握有自己的发团，其间夹杂若干小片羽毛。剧中进一步呈现了放大镜下证据对此理论的进一步支持，推测应是有事实依据的。

然而对于纪录片来说，此新闻发布会举办的2008年在当时是个纪录片结束多年、Peterson命运中没有变化发生的年份，而2011年纪录片因重审而延续时，猫头鹰理论和纪录片的主题——美国刑事司法系统中人的命运——并不直接相关，所以整个纪录片都没有提及此事。不过，导演de Lestrade也留意到并探索了这个理论。他后来写道：“表面上，这个理论显得有些荒谬，所以过去我都是对此非常谨慎。但是，如今，我必须承认有数不胜数的事实支持这个猫头鹰假说。两年前，我结识了一位著名的神经外科医生。他花了几天时间仔细研究了凯瑟琳的伤，告诉我说，这些伤与任何用作武器的钝器都不相符。这些伤不可能用管子、锤子、刀、轮胎撬棍、甚至做园艺的小耙子造成。可是，这些伤痕和大型猛禽或食肉鸟类造成的撕裂伤最为相符。四个刺破伤通过不规则撕裂而汇集到一点，而且并不伴随头皮青肿，除非有相反的证据，否则必须被认定为猛禽的爪所造成。而且，这些撕裂的尺寸和大林鸮的爪一样。我认为猫头鹰袭击在室外发生，令凯瑟琳开始晕眩，最可能就是在楼梯上晕眩，导致她摔下楼梯或者摔在了楼梯底部，导致她的甲状软骨骨折。随后她经历了一段时间的失去知觉，最后出血或窒息而死。”

如果这真是猛禽击杀，则Peterson痛失挚爱还要坠入冤狱，全家人都饱受煎熬，真可谓天降横祸了。而纪录片加上本剧，观之更加令人唏嘘。重新尸检可能有助于形成确定性的结论，然而从养父那里打官司获得巨款的Caitlin是不会同意开棺的。真相永夜难明，奈何奈何。