The Outsider 2020 (plot commentary)

The play stars Ben Mendelsohn and focuses on the tragic case of an 11-year-old boy who was raped, murdered and dismembered. The seemingly straightforward case gave rise to doubts, and supernatural forces were at work: In the small town of Flint, Oklahoma, Detective Ralph Anderson arrested Terry Maitland, a popular teacher and Little League coach, in front of a group of people, accusing him of raping and killing a boy and dismembering his body. Maitland insists he is innocent, but Anderson has witnesses and conclusive evidence (DNA and fingerprints) to prove his guilt. The district attorney told Anderson to break Maitland's alibi and turn what would have been a protracted court battle into a straightforward case with clear plot lines. But Anderson unexpectedly discovered: Not only did multiple witnesses claim that Maitland was not in the city when the murder occurred, security video also confirmed this. With the help of private detective Holly Gibney (a character in King's other novel "Mr. Mercedes"), Anderson began to investigate the case in depth, and clues led the two to...