Appropriate Adult [DVD]

Fascinating drama. Excellent performances from Dominic West and Emily Watson. There has been a lot of criticism of Janet Leach, not least by her own son, I don't think this drama painted her in glory, I think the drama showed just how difficult it was for her to cope with the indescribable horror and immensely difficult situation she was placed within for which let's face it, no one could have been prepared for. I would have liked to had more information about what happened to her own legal case.
This drama was compelling but uncomfortable viewing and was very thought provoking about the impact the case has had on all of those involved, who but for this drama, you would never have thought about.
I applaud the actors involved, it was a fantastic piece of drama and has haunted me since I watched it.

I guess most people are familiar with Fred and Rosemary West and perhaps have memories of TV footage of their garden being dug up as more and more bodies were unearthed. This DVD reconstructs all that.
At the time I tuned out after a while it all seemed so over the top it was like the stuff of movies, now it IS a movie.

This DVD is especially interesting and compelling because as the title suggests, it is told from the point of view of the Appropriate Adult. In case, like me, you are not quite sure what that means, it is a person called in by the police to attend interviews with suspects, when the suspect in question has issues of some kind such as learning difficulties.

This is Janet's first case as an Appropriate Adult, and what a case she gets landed with. Emily Watson puts in a thrilling performance, not sure that Fred West has learning difficulties he certainly has problems so enormous it seems impossible that a man could act like that, but West is shown as a MAN the film does not make a point of monstering him up, his derangement is revealed slowly and cleverly. Janet is alternately shocked and almost at the same time beguiled by West. Dominic West portrays his namesake Fred as highly manipulative and controlling of women. At the same time he suggests this enormous indifference and minimising of the agony and suffering he has caused to his victims..totally chilling.
The most scary character however is Rose West not much time on screen but every second she is there she is evil personified.

In case you don't know how this ends, for spoiler reasons I won't say but you may well feel it is suitable result for Fred. Not a feel good movie or a girls night in DVD but thought provoking and absorbing

APPROPRIATE ADULT may not be available on USA Format DVD as yet, but for those interested in seeing this remarkable achievement in filmmaking, it is viewable now on Sundance Channel. Watch for it. APPROPRIATE ADULT is one of the few films that relates the true story of a serial killer without resorting to forcing the audience to watch reenactments of the murders. Instead the writer, director and actors bring this savage bit of history to the screen solely through a serious of interview conducted with the killer in the presence of the British police and an 'Appropriate Adult' - one who has been trained to help the accused by detecting if the accused has learning difficulties or other encumbrances that might make the interviews invalid.

First a bit of fact: 'Frederick Walter Stephen West (29 September 1941[1] - 1 January 1995), was a British serial killer. Between 1967 and 1987, he alone, and later, he and his wife Rosemary, tortured, raped and murdered at least 11 young women and girls, many at the couple's homes. The majority of the murders occurred between May 1973 and September 1979 at their home in Gloucester. Rosemary West also murdered Fred's stepdaughter (his first wife's biological daughter) Charmaine, while he was serving a prison sentence for theft. During this time they resided at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester. The house was demolished in 1996 and was converted into a landscaped footpath connecting Cromwell Street to St. Michaels Square.' It is now believed that West was responsible for 20 other similarly executed murders.

The film focuses on the Appropriate Adult Janet Leach (Emily Watson in an Oscar worthy performance), a trainee social worker who is asked by Gloucester police to sit in on the interrogations of Frederick West (played with extraordinary skill by Dominic West). West is a sociopath whose past of preying on women comes from the animal magnetism he owns, a factor which is strong enough to keep Janet on the case a Fred's assigned 'helper'. Janet lives with Mike (Anthony Flanagan) who is a bipolar victim and with whom Janet has three children. The tightrope of psychological stability for Janet is threatened by her hearing all the grisly details of the murders as well as facing a home where Mike stop his lithium and must be psychiatrically hospitalized. Janet is repulsed by what Fred unwinds and decides she cannot manage to remain the appropriate adult, but Fred sees her as his only friend and promises here that if she stays on the case he will tell her the truth about everything. The interviews are held in the presence of Detective Constable Hazel Savage (Sylvestra Le Tousel), Detective Superintendent John Bennett (Robert Glenister), West's assigned solicitor Howard Ogden (Gerald Horan) and Janet. There are moments when Fred tells Janet details he hasn't shared with the police, but because of her assigned role as appropriate adult she must hold these conversations with the murderer in confidence. There are times when the interrogation group accompanies Fred to his home to find the bodies buried in his garden and cellar, but these breaks are few and outside of the visits to Janet's home and to the hospital while Mike is institutionalized the film is claustrophobically viewed in the dank interrogation room. Once the interrogation is complete and hearings begin, Fred pleads with Janet to visit him in prison to share all the details of his life. The manner in which their relationship comes to an end is shocking but allows Janet to return to her home life with Mike and her three children: the paparazzi finally leave Janet alone.

The story was written for the screen by Neil McKay and directed by Julian Jarrod. The film is approximately 2 1/2 hours in length, but the story is so fascinating and the acting is so incredibly fine on the part of everyone in this cast that the film itself feels short. Dominic West and Emily Watson are absolutely extraordinary in this film. With the quality of their performances it is doubtful the movie would have the enormous impact that it has.

Grady Harp