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Elle
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Elle
Separating Fact From Fiction In ITV's Real Life Crime Thriller 'Under The Bridge'
'Hell is a teenage girl,' or so goes the phrase made infamous by the 2009 film Jennifer's Body, now a cult classic for its sly depiction of feminine rage. But a young girl's rage can be as terrible as it is cathartic, as easily co-opted as misunderstood. Both are sentiments untangled in the Hulu series Under the Bridge, now showing on ITV and adapted from Rebecca Godfrey's celebrated 2005 true-crime book of the same name. The book and series track the 1997 death of Reena Virk—a British Columbian 14-year-old girl who was beaten and drowned in a saltwater inlet known as the Gorge Waterway—and the subsequent murder investigation, which resulted in the sentencing of six teenage girls and one boy. To adapt the story for television, series creator Quinn Shephard worked closely with Godfrey in the years leading up to Godfrey's death from lung cancer in October 2022, and, per The Wrap, Godfrey herself opted for Daisy Jones and the Six actress Riley Keough to portray her in the Hulu adaptation. The series pulls the bulk of its plot and characters from Godfrey's investigation (her book, as well as her various notes and transcripts), and from a memoir published by Reena's father, Manjit Virk, in 2008. But Shephard and her collaborators are transparent about the numerous fictionalized and invented details within the show, including changed names, shuffled timelines, and a cop character played by Killers of the Flower Moon actress Lily Gladstone. As Shephard told in an exclusive first look at the show, the writers had 'a lot of conversations about responsible fictionalization. How could we tell a story that felt like it spoke to a universal truth about being a child when we were missing certain details? But we still wanted [Reena] to feel like a meaningful character in the series.' Although the series never purports to display a full, 100-percent accurate portrait of Reena's death, it is nevertheless worth parsing the details of the case to better understand where the show delves into creative license. Ahead, a few important questions to consider when separating the fact from the fictionalized in Under the Bridge. Reena, daughter of Manjit Virk and Suman Virk, was a student at Colquitz Junior Secondary in Victoria, British Columbia. In her book, Godfrey described Reena as possessing 'a rare combination of boldness and innocence,' and that she was 'dark skinned and heavy in a town and time that valued the thin and the blonde.' She was the daughter of an Indian immigrant, Manjit, and an Indo-Canadian, Suman, whose family had converted from Hinduism to the Jehovah's Witness faith soon after Reena's grandmother, Tarsem, first arrived in Canada. Reena, at 14, liked Biggie and Bollywood movies. According to Godfrey, Reena 'had announced that she did not want to be a Jehovah's Witness any longer' by the time of her death, and had rebelled against the rules of her household by skipping meals, smoking cigarettes, changing her clothes, and running away from home. When the Associated Press first reported on Reena's 'grisly' murder, it cited a person 'close to the victim's family,' who 'described Ms. Virk as an occasional runaway who did not get along well with her parents.' In the same story, Manjit told the AP that his daughter's 'biggest problem was her associations, her friends.' Under the Bridge executive producer Samir Mehta told he was intrigued by the project, in part, because of 'the opportunity to tell the story of an Indian child of an immigrant. It's an interesting opportunity to just dig into that dynamic, which I feel like we haven't really seen a lot of on TV.' Yes. According to a CBC News article published in 2006, Reena informed social workers in 1996 that she'd been physically, sexually, and mentally abused in the Virks' home, an accusation that led to Manjit's arrest. An MSNBC program centered on Reena's murder ran in 2011, titled Bloodlust Under the Bridge, and reported that 'the Virks say Reena was lured into making false accusations by her friends, who had convinced her that being put into foster care would catapult her into teen paradise.' She would be 'free of her parents and all their rules.' Reena left her family's home and went into the care of the Canadian Ministry of Families and Children in the fall of 1996, and after a couple of months, per MSNBC, she made the accusation against Manjit. After a few months in foster care, Reena told her parents she was 'tired of the foster home' and returned to living with them, dropping the charges against her father. A report published in 2006 by the British Columbia Coroners Service found that 'social workers failed Reena Virk by putting her in foster care without confirming whether her allegations of family abuse were true.' According to CBC News, the allegations against Reena's parents 'tore the family apart.' Reena's mother, Suman, told the Victoria Times-Colonist that 'these [social workers] are trained professionals, and they couldn't clue in that this child was a total storyteller.' Reena's official cause of death was drowning. The following account is outlined in Godfrey's book: On Friday, November 14, 1997, teenagers Josephine and Dusty (both pseudonyms employed by Godfrey) invited Reena to a party. Reena agreed to attend—though she hesitated, as she'd recently been caught spreading rumors about Josephine—and told her family she'd return by 10pm. That evening, the trio joined a much larger group of students on a field at Shoreline School, where they watched a Russian satellite explode in the sky at 9.12pm. Soon after the unexpected light show, a girl whom Godfrey referred to as 'Laila' walked onto the field and announced she'd been called upon to 'fight a girl.' Reena, guessing Josephine had brought in Laila to exact retribution for the rumors, started to run. A number of girls caught up with Reena, and they tore up her bus pass as she called her little brother from a phone booth, telling him she'd be home soon. The girls then pulled Reena down under the bridge along the Gorge Waterway, where Josephine reportedly screamed at Reena for 'trying to ruin my life'. She then held her lit cigarette against Reena's forehead, igniting the fight that would eventually end Reena's life. Although Godfrey reports there were 14 girls and two boys under the bridge that night, a handful of them actively participated in beating Reena. Laila eventually broke up the fight, leaving Reena alone and bleeding. As the first three episodes of Under the Bridge depict, an injured-but-alive Reena initially walked away from the scene, only to be followed by two teenagers—Kelly Marie Ellard and Warren Glowatski—who continued the brutal attack. At the water's edge, Kelly then held Reena's head underwater and drowned her. Six girls, including Josephine, Dusty, and Kelly, were sentenced for their involvement in the assault. Warren and Kelly were eventually convicted of second-degree murder. In Under the Bridge, both the book and show, a number of names are changed, including for the characters of Josephine (played by Chloe Guidry) and Dusty (played by Aiyana Goodfellow). The real names of the girls involved—apart from Kelly Marie Ellard (played by Izzy G.), whose real name is used—were Nicole Cook, Missy Grace Pleich, Nicole Patterson, Gail Ooms, and Courtney Keith. Warren Glowatski's real name is used in both the book and show. Izzy G's Kelly Ellard is depicted, in the show's eighth and final episode, repeatedly denying that she killed Reena. When she takes the stand during her and Warren Glowatski's trial, she occasionally veers into a sudden and bizarre British accent. This behavior echoes what Godfrey laid out in her book, in which the author writes: 'Kelly told her story of the evening and as she spoke, her voice took on a clipped, precise tone, both prim and concise, and occasionally it seemed she was using a British accent ... It seemed then that Kelly must have stood up, though she remained seated, and yet her voice was so loud and forceful as she screamed: "I did not kill Reena Virk and I will repeat it and repeat it and I will stick with that until the day I die! I don't care how much jail time I do, I did not kill Reena Virk. I will still say I did not kill Reena Virk until the day I die. I don't care if I get another life sentence but I did not kill Reena Virk!"' In her book, Godfrey rarely mentions herself; she is not a character in the story, let alone a major one. As the author told The Believer in 2019, 'I don't know if it was an issue of ego, or an artistic choice, but either way, I didn't think my role as reporter was interesting or necessary. I suppose I was also skittish about the parallels with my own life. I didn't want to talk about my brother's death or my own troubled adolescence in Victoria.' In the series, Keough is one of the lead actresses, and a significant amount of screen time is spent focusing specifically on Godfrey's role in the story, including her background as a kid in Victoria and her real-life brother's drowning. As Shephard told Godfrey helped the adaptation team develop the fictionalized 'TV Rebecca' in order to 'make her into a dynamic leading character.' Shephard similarly told The Wrap that she'd come up with the idea of fictionalizing Godfrey before she'd even had a chance to meet the author. The series creator shared that making Godfrey a character was integral to not only 'explor[ing] the book,' but also to 'zoom out from it as the only definitive account of the crime.' In the Hulu series, Keough's Godfrey refers multiple times to her late brother, Gabe, and his tragic death. This, too, is pulled from reality: The real-life Godfrey's brother was named Jonathan, and when he was 16, he 'fell from a bluff near [the family's] home and drowned,' per Godfrey's New York Times obituary. 'I had a fraught and very difficult teenage experience—my brother drowned when I was thirteen,' she told The Believer. 'I went a little wild after that and lost interest in high school, and got into the punk scene in downtown Victoria. Being in that scene was great because I could hide behind this mask of anger and coolness and toughness, and think, "Oh, I look scary, so everyone will leave me alone." In retrospect, I'm sure I didn't look as tough as I thought I did, but the music and that crowd was a good disguise.' Police officer Cam Bentland is one of few entirely invented components in Under the Bridge. A composite character representing multiple police sources Godfrey worked with during her reporting, Cam is an Indigenous cop adopted by a white family, and her history with the 'TV Rebecca' is a loaded one. Gladstone felt the character's identity added a layer of nuance that the book itself had not addressed, as she told the New York Times: 'The murder happened just by tribal land. The bridge connects the municipality to a reserve. So inherently, there's a First Nations presence in the story. I thought it was a brilliant construction to have a First Nations, adopted cop, who feels compelled to Reena in a way that becomes clearer and clearer to her.' In 2007, Warren Glowatski went up for parole. With the the help of the Virks—who 'explained to the parole board that Warren was on a good path and they did not want to stop his release,' according to Godfrey's book—he was released on full parole in June 2010, after having spent 11 years in prison. At the time of his release, CBC reported that Glowatski was living 'part-time in an apartment and going to school' but felt as if he 'had a big letter "C" for criminal, tattooed on his forehead.' He has since stayed away from the spotlight and has not commented on Under the Bridge. In 2005, Ellard was ultimately sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for seven years. It wasn't until 2017 that Ellard was granted day parole—meaning she would be allowed to navigate society during the day and return to a facility at night. By the time she requested a parole extension in 2018, Ellard had changed her name to Kerry Marie Sim. She had also, at last, confessed to her role in Reena's murder. (According to Godfrey, she described her involvement as such: '[Reena] drowned and I put her in the water.') Today, Ellard a.k.a. Sim lives in a residential facility in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. Having given birth to her first child in prison and her second while on day parole, she has 'often blamed [her] inability to move forward on the requirement to reside at the community-based residential facility, the high cost of living, parenting struggles as a single mother, and [her] ex-spouse abandoning [her] and [her] children,' according to parole documents cited by CBC. She is not allowed any contact with the Virk family. ELLE Collective is a new community of fashion, beauty and culture lovers. For access to exclusive content, events, inspiring advice from our Editors and industry experts, as well the opportunity to meet designers, thought-leaders and stylists, become a member today HERE.
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Scotsman
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Under the Bridge cast: who is in cast
Lily Gladstone and Riley Keough lead the cast of Under the Bridge 📺 Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... True crime drama Under the Bridge is set to air on ITV. It features an Oscar-nominee in the cast. But who else is in the series? Under the Bridge is the latest import from across the Atlantic to arrive on ITV. The true-crime drama is based on the disappearance of teenager Reena Virk in the 1990s. It is described as 'one of the most shocking Canadian crimes' of that decade. The show was originally on Disney+ but is coming to ITVX and traditional linear TV as well. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But who is in the cast of the show and where do you know them from? Here's all you need to know: When is Under the Bridge on TV? Under the Bridge is coming to ITV | ITV/ Hulu/ Disney Plus ITV has picked up the show in a deal with Disney Plus. More shows from the streaming platform have become available on ITVX as well - find out more here. It is set to be broadcast on Friday nights starting today (July 25) on ITV1/ STV. Under the Bridge will start at 9pm and the second episode will follow at 10pm. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad How to watch the full series of Under the Bridge? If you don't want to wait until next week to find out what happens next in the story, the full boxset is already available to watch on ITVX/ STV Player. All of the episodes became available today (July 25). Under the Bridge is also available to watch on Disney Plus - if you have a subscription to that. Who is in the cast of Under the Bridge? The true-crime drama boasts quite the incredible cast - including a recent Oscar-nominee. The full list includes: Main Lily Gladstone - Cam Bentland Vritika Gupta - Reena Virk Chloe Guidry - Josephine Bell Javon "Wanna" Walton - Warren Glowatski Izzy G - Kelly Ellard Aiyana Goodfellow - Dusty Pace Ezra Faroque Khan - Manjit Virk Archie Panjabi - Suman Virk Riley Keough - Rebecca Godfrey Recurring Anoop Desai - Raj Masihajjar Matt Craven - Roy Bentland Daniel Diemer - Scott Bentland Jared Ager-Foster - Connor Fields Maya Da Costa - Maya Longette Arta Negahban - Laila Zahrani Isabella Leon - Samara Bailey Lily Gladstone was nominated for best actress at the 2024 Academy Awards for her role in Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon. She also won a Golden Globe for the role. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Viewers may recognise Riley Keogh from Daisy Jones & the Six as well as Mad Max: Fury Road. She was also part of the cast for Magic Mike - and is the eldest grandchild of Elvis Presley. Archie Panjabi was most recently seen as The Rani in the 2025 series of Doctor Who on the BBC. She was also in Bend It Like Beckham back in the day - as well as other shows like The Good Wife and Life on Mars. If you love TV, check out our Screen Babble podcast to get the latest in TV and film.
.jpeg%3Fwidth%3D1200%26auto%3Dwebp%26quality%3D75%26trim%3D0%2C270%2C0%2C50%26crop%3D&w=3840&q=100)
Scotsman
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Under the Bridge cast: who is in cast
Lily Gladstone and Riley Keough lead the cast of Under the Bridge 📺 Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... True crime drama Under the Bridge is set to air on ITV. It features an Oscar-nominee in the cast. But who else is in the series? Under the Bridge is the latest import from across the Atlantic to arrive on ITV. The true-crime drama is based on the disappearance of teenager Reena Virk in the 1990s. It is described as 'one of the most shocking Canadian crimes' of that decade. The show was originally on Disney+ but is coming to ITVX and traditional linear TV as well. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But who is in the cast of the show and where do you know them from? Here's all you need to know: When is Under the Bridge on TV? Under the Bridge is coming to ITV | ITV/ Hulu/ Disney Plus ITV has picked up the show in a deal with Disney Plus. More shows from the streaming platform have become available on ITVX as well - find out more here. It is set to be broadcast on Friday nights starting today (July 25) on ITV1/ STV. Under the Bridge will start at 9pm and the second episode will follow at 10pm. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad How to watch the full series of Under the Bridge? If you don't want to wait until next week to find out what happens next in the story, the full boxset is already available to watch on ITVX/ STV Player. All of the episodes became available today (July 25). Under the Bridge is also available to watch on Disney Plus - if you have a subscription to that. Who is in the cast of Under the Bridge? The true-crime drama boasts quite the incredible cast - including a recent Oscar-nominee. The full list includes: Main Lily Gladstone - Cam Bentland Vritika Gupta - Reena Virk Chloe Guidry - Josephine Bell Javon "Wanna" Walton - Warren Glowatski Izzy G - Kelly Ellard Aiyana Goodfellow - Dusty Pace Ezra Faroque Khan - Manjit Virk Archie Panjabi - Suman Virk Riley Keough - Rebecca Godfrey Recurring Anoop Desai - Raj Masihajjar Matt Craven - Roy Bentland Daniel Diemer - Scott Bentland Jared Ager-Foster - Connor Fields Maya Da Costa - Maya Longette Arta Negahban - Laila Zahrani Isabella Leon - Samara Bailey Lily Gladstone was nominated for best actress at the 2024 Academy Awards for her role in Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon. She also won a Golden Globe for the role. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Viewers may recognise Riley Keogh from Daisy Jones & the Six as well as Mad Max: Fury Road. She was also part of the cast for Magic Mike - and is the eldest grandchild of Elvis Presley. Archie Panjabi was most recently seen as The Rani in the 2025 series of Doctor Who on the BBC. She was also in Bend It Like Beckham back in the day - as well as other shows like The Good Wife and Life on Mars.
Daily Mirror
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Leonardo DiCaprio's best film ranked and it's one everyone has forgotten
Leonardo DiCaprio has starred in a number of iconic films over the years, but according to Rotten Tomatoes, one movie in particular stands out as his best work Rotten Tomatoes, the renowned film review aggregator, has compiled an ultimate list of Leonardo DiCaprio's films, ranging from fan favourites to lesser-known gems. The list unveils the top-rated film featuring the Hollywood heavyweight. Leonardo DiCaprio is known for his fearless approach to diverse roles, embodying a range of characters from wealthy tycoons and impoverished voyagers to Shakespeare's Romeo. Each film has been ranked based on fan reviews, with the top spot going to a film where the then 28-year-old actor adopts multiple false identities. "Catch Me If You Can" emerges as DiCaprio's highest-rated film, boasting an impressive 96 per cent score and a plethora of five-star reviews. This 2002 cinematic masterpiece, directed by the legendary Steven Spielberg, left such a lasting impression on film enthusiasts that it has garnered over 1,000 reviews on the platform alone. The film features DiCaprio alongside a star-studded cast including Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Nathalie Baye, and Amy Adams. It's based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Frank Abagnale Jr, who claimed to have executed numerous cons worth millions of dollars, impersonating a pilot, a doctor, and even a district attorney, all before reaching the tender age of 19, reports the Mirror US. The movie delves into these outlandish and intricate tales, which have since faced considerable scrutiny, as the young lad executes a series of lucrative cons whilst being chased by an FBI operative portrayed by Tom Hanks. A Rotten Tomatoes review says: "Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can is an electric yet ultimately sad story, easily one of his best films from this century. It's packed with so many memorable moments, from Frank Abagnale Jr's audacious cons to Carl Hanratty's relentless pursuit. "Leonardo DiCaprio is dynamite in the lead role, embodying the charm and vulnerability of a young man caught in a web of his own making, while Tom Hanks provides a wonderfully understated counterpoint." Another commented: "Very funny movie that still manages to have a very hard-hitting and emotional drama. Great performances all around, especially by Christopher Walken. It's just overall very entertaining to watch Leonardo DiCaprio's antics and grandiose cons and escapades; what more reason could you have to watch this?". Within the catalogue of over 20 pictures, securing second place as the highest-rated DiCaprio flick is the 2023 offering Killers of the Flower Moon. This production boasts an impressive 93 per cent rating, with audiences captivated by Martin Scorsese's western, adapted from a 2017 novel. Devotees of the silver screen star won't be taken aback to discover that his 1991 role in The Critters is at the very bottom of the list, closely followed by the tropical thriller The Beach. However, there are some unexpected entries in the top 10, including the often overlooked What's Eating Gilbert Grape and the 1996 film Marvin's Room. Top 10 Leonardo DiCaprio movies ranked by Rotten Tomatoes reviews Catch Me if You Can Killers of the Flower Moon The Departed What's Eating Gilbert Grape Titanic Inception Django Unchained The Aviator Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood Marvin's Room
Time of India
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
F1 star Damson Idris talks about his bond with Lewis Hamilton; reveals why he is not a method actor
F1 has surpassed the collection of Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon ($158 million worldwide) featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Ridley Scott's Napoleon ($221 million). Tired of too many ads? go ad free now is a well-known British actor, producer and entrepreneur. He is best known for starring in John Singleton's crime drama . Damson Idris, who is getting a lot of praise for his Formula One portrayal, has made it clear that he is not a "method actor." When Damson showed up at Amelia Dimoldenberg's Chicken Shop Date, he was asked about his acting practice amid the enthusiastic reception for his part in the movie. After avoiding the topic at first, he finally said, "I'm not a method actor." During the conversation, the YouTuber asked Damson Idris whether he was one of those actors who remained in character long after the cameras stopped rolling. To this, he instantly replied, 'I mean, I'm not a method actor, like what?" The actor went on to recall his time shooting for the hit show Snowfall where he maintained his American accent at home until his family intervened. 'Very quickly they were like, 'Shut up and talk normal,'" said Damson. Further he also opened up about working in F1 and shared that he formed a close relationship with Lewis Hamilton, a renowned F1 driver and the film's producer. When Damson was asked about what he learned from Hamilton, the actor eagerly replied, 'To drive. He is the coolest guy in the world." In additions to these conversations, Dimoldenberg also asked the actor whether he keeps a picture of Denzel Washington in his dressing room. Denying the claims, he questioned, 'Why would I? I mean, where is the dressing room?" According to Variety, F1 has surpassed the collection of Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon ($158 million worldwide) featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Ridley Scott's Napoleon ($221 million) starring Joaquin Phoenix. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The Joseph Kosinski directorial has become Apple's highest-grossing film to date, with a collection of more than USD 300 million at the global box office. F1 tells the tale of Sonny Hayes (Bradd Pitt), a former Formula One racer, who returns from retirement to coach Joshua Pearce (played by Damson Idris), a young, talented driver for the struggling APXGP team. In addition to them, the movie includes the star-studded cast featuring important roles from Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem, Tobias Menzies, Kim Bodnia, and Sara Niles. Brad Pitt plays the lead role.
