A tale of two missing females: whose life matters more?

The question of whose life matters more is being asked painfully every day in current headlines about the war in Gaza. It occurs repeatedly throughout the history of conflict and is a favourite moral dilemma, presented in many different scenarios, by philosophy professors, especially those, like Peter Singer, with a bent towards utilitarianism. It is also a useful dramatic device.

We see it played out in a different context, in the Apple TV dramatisation of US crime writer Laura Lippman’s 2020 novel, The Lady in the Lake.

In this classy noir adaptation, two lives are lost: one is a little Jewish girl, Tessie Durst, last seen in a pet shop admiring the fish tanks; the other is Cleopatra, a young black woman who is struggling to make ends meet working in a club owned by a black gangster, has a very sick child and has shown courage in speaking out about civil rights.

The contrast between the two deaths is stark: one is treated as a shocking tragedy by the community. The other passes more or less unnoticed. Such were the priorities in 1960s Baltimore, where the story is set. Interestingly, the producers of the TV version have chosen Cleopatra’s voice as the narrator, adding a supernatural layer to an otherwise gritty story. 

Initially, our focus is on neither of the victims. Instead, we meet a Jewish housewife, Maddie Schwartz, played by Natalie Portman. She looks much like she did playing Jackie Kennedy in the movie Jackie, right down to the pill box hats she wears. No surprises there, they share the same era.