“A case that’s gradually revealed to be more and more horrific”. Don’t miss it.
While the relatively recent upsurge in the popularity of true crime documentaries can arguably be traced back to the likes of Making A Murderer and The Jinx, there are always a few ‘older’ gems that can creep under the radar.
In recent weeks, we’ve seen Abducted in Plain Sight and Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes dominate the viewing habits of some people, but this weekend, Virgin Media Three will be showing an excellent feature on the notorious serial killer Fred West and his wife Rosemary.
For two decades, Fred West abused, tortured and killed at least 12 young women and girls, mainly at his home at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester. The majority of his heinous crimes were committed with his second wife, Rosemary West.
Originally released in 2011, Appropriate Adult depicts the the events that occurred between the Wests’ arrests in 1994 and Fred’s death on New Year’s Day, 1995.
In terms of the narrative approach, the feature tells the story through the perspective of social worker Janet Leach (Emily Watson) after she’s appointed to be the ‘appropriate adult’ to accompany West during his police interviews – West was deemed to be mentally disabled.
Leach would go on to spent almost 400 hours in the company of the serial killer.
During the course of their conversations, Leach was traumatised by her contact with West, who confided gruesome details about his crimes. However, she was also vilified after she decided to sell her story to a tabloid newspaper.
Appropriate Adult stars Dominic West, Monica Dolan and Emily Watson as the protagonists of the story.
All three actors won BAFTAs for their performances.
In terms of reviews, Variety said that “it’s such a formidable showcase for its leads” while The Telegraph stated that Appropriate Adult is “meticulously researched and was wholely convincing”.
If you’ve never seen it before, it airs this Sunday at 22:05pm on Virgin Media Three.
Those that have already seen Appropriate Adult are highly recommending it. Take a look at what’s in store.
https://twitter.com/VirginMedia_3/status/1099073850686369792
This Fred West show (Appropriate Adult) is utterly bloody brilliant.
— richard bacon (@richardpbacon) September 4, 2011
"@richardpbacon: This Fred West show (Appropriate Adult) is utterly bloody brilliant." Totally agree! Hope 2 see u in ashfield soon
— Gloria De Piero (@GloriaDePiero) September 4, 2011
Appropriate adult is one of the best shows Ive seen it agesssss
— Cameron (@Cameron__Brown) September 11, 2011
Amazing performance from Dominic West in Appropriate Adult #fredwest
— Mike Graham 🇬🇧 (@Iromg) September 4, 2011
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