AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

sgcim I was never aware these two sick animals' crimes, so I went in to this without knowing what this movie was about. A social work student is asked to act as an 'Appropriate Adult' for a guy in a police station who is dressed in a normal fashion, no chains or even handcuffs. The fellow speaks in a matter of fact manner about having problems with his daughter, who threatened to give LSD to her younger siblings, and the father says he loses control and chokes her. The fellow then is left alone with the 'AA' and makes some chilling remarks to her. The police are shown digging up the guy's backyard with him again, not in handcuffs, speaking knowledgeably about using some tools.Basically, that's the pattern of the whole movie, and while it's kind of creepy, it gets kind of monotonous after a while, and I found myself wishing that the film would just end. Certainly, the two leads give good performances, but the director doesn't help them much in his choice of presenting the story in the manner of a play, rather than as a work of cinema.

jlthornb51 Emily Watson's stunning BAFTA winning performance sets the small screen ablaze in this gripping study of sociopathy and those seduced by it. Watson does some of her most memorable and powerful work here and it is a clear demonstration of a gifted actor at the height of her artistry. Dominic West is also good with Monica Dolan absolutely amazing in the role of the murder's wife. The script is incisive and the direction crisp and efficient. A sense of overwhelming dread and discomfort permeates the film from beginning to end and heightens the intensity throughout. It is, however, Emily Watson who is absolutely incredible in this role and whose wondrous talent will blind audiences with its fiery brilliance. This is an actor who never fails to bring humanity and truth to any character she plays and her gifts are especially on beautiful display in this mesmerizing performance.

gradyharp 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

rabbitmoon A lesser production about the West's story would have probably gone for Se7en style moods and grisly gory details. A horror.Fortunately, and far more rewardingly for any engaged viewer, the story focuses on a human relationship story whilst allowing the imagination to piece together events in the background.The dynamics of the relationship are fascinating, more-so because they are true. In the final analysis, that Janet (the appropriate adult) allowed herself to be manipulated and seduced by Fred West is a chilling illustration of the true nature of what we are dealing with here. The thought that this same psychological treatment would have led countless others into his trust, and ultimately their deaths, is far more terrifying in its cold reality than any conscious attempts at "horror" could have been.Janet doesn't only represent the victims but also the vast majority of normal human beings - vulnerable to emotional needs, a willing and optimistic mindset, and the inability to always separate imagination from reality.A very fascinating angle on a difficult subject.