Natalee Holloway, an 18-year-old high school graduate, went on a trip to Aruba and disappeared on May 30, 2005. Her body has never been found, even though she has been officially declared dead. In Taken: Natalee Holloway, directors Danielle Sloane and Matthew Galkin revisit this tragic incident and its aftermath in considerable detail, bringing together multiple perspectives along the way. By the end, you come away considerably more informed and, in some ways, satisfied, but also a little frustrated. Galkin previously directed One Night in Idaho: The College Murders, and, much like that Prime Video documentary, Taken leaves you with a sad aftertaste and one particularly distressing thought: the life of a teenager with a promising future ahead of her was cut short by a heinous man. The documentary, after all, gives us a peek into Natalee's calendar, where parties, games, and other activities are marked under specific dates. She had planned all sorts of things for herself. Here was a girl who was genuinely looking forward to experiencing all that life had to offer.
Those plans, sadly, were ruined by Joran van der Sloot, the prime suspect in her disappearance and presumed murder. It took years to bring him to justice, partly because he kept changing his story. Perhaps he learned a thing or two about evading accountability from his father, who was training to become a judge at the time. What's more, Joran was eventually imprisoned in Peru for murdering another woman, Stephany Flores, rather than for Natalee's death. He was also charged with extortion and wire fraud in the United States, offenses to which he eventually pleaded guilty. In secretly recorded videos, he alluded to his involvement in Natalee's disappearance, but the recordings were never admitted as evidence in court. That, however, did little to change the minds of Natalee's mother, Beth, and many others, who had long been convinced of his guilt. More significantly, Joran eventually admitted to killing Natalee in a proffer letter submitted in connection with his 2023 extradition to the United States.
According to Beth, another reason justice was delayed was the gross negligence displayed by Aruba's police officers. We are told that it took almost 35 minutes for an officer to speak to the family at the police station and that investigators failed to collect forensic evidence from Joran's house and vehicle. The police also took considerable time to arrest Joran and Deepak and Satish Kalpoe. As far as Beth was concerned, the Aruba police were working at a snail's pace—a perception further reinforced by American journalists and media outlets. But Taken also turns its camera towards Aruba's locals and journalists, many of whom strongly contest this account. One individual argues that ordinary American citizens wouldn't have taken leave from work to search for a missing person in the way Aruba's locals did. Another points out that 40% of the police department's operational budget was spent on locating Natalee, an extraordinary allocation of resources for a single case. The documentary doesn't necessarily settle the dispute, but it does make room for perspectives that were largely overshadowed by the American media's narrative.
Journalists, after all, have the power to shape public perception, and the loudest voice often gets to dictate the narrative. Taken smartly explores this power while also drawing attention to the damage caused by journalistic sensationalism. Consider how media outlets began interviewing Joran and giving him a platform despite his vile conduct, largely because his appearances brought in viewers. Natalee's friends, too, became targets of aggressive reporting. In one particularly uncomfortable instance, a journalist asked one of them on live television why none of the friends had bothered to call Natalee on her cell phone. The friend explained that Natalee's phone was in her hotel room, making such a call rather pointless. On the one hand, Taken shows how Beth uses the media to put pressure on Aruba and its government officials. On the other, it exposes the uglier side of the same profession, which rears its head when tabloid gossip and viewership figures become more important than journalistic ethics. The irony is hard to miss: the very institution that can help a grieving family demand answers can also exploit its suffering for entertainment.
That should tell you all you need to know about Taken: its makers are willing to examine all sides and dimensions of a story, even when doing so makes for uncomfortable viewing. No wonder, then, that the documentary turns its critical gaze towards people who exploit Beth's grief by scamming her. One of the cruellest incidents in the series involves someone sending Natalee's clothes to Beth in exchange for money, only for DNA testing to reveal that the whole thing was yet another scam. Joran might have been caught for his crimes, and he certainly deserves all the hate directed at him. But the fraudsters who hide behind the anonymity of the Internet and exploit someone's pain for financial gain are just as despicable. The difference is that Joran is behind bars, while these scammers remain out in the open, walking freely in society and perhaps even wearing a facade of politeness. The world can be quite unfair. It seems even more so when you discover that Joran received conjugal visits in prison, eventually married, and even has a daughter. But Taken wisely refuses to dwell on these details. Its interest lies elsewhere: in paying tribute to the victim, because Natalee is the one who deserves to be talked about and remembered. The Jorans of the world, meanwhile, should simply rot in hell.
Final Score - [7/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times