It seems like taboos’s are dropping like flies on the screen these days. A mould was shattered, surprisingly by the German’s, when Bruno Ganz did the unthinkable and unbelievable by portraying Hitler in ‘Downfall’. How were we supposed to relate to one of history’s most maligned characters? Surely too much to handle, too difficult to connect to, and a step too far. Yet, with our hands covering our eyes, our curiosity getting the better of us, we still peeped out to see the bigger picture, and realise that it was a necessary educational step. To learn more about Hitler, it helped to witness someone leaving no stone unturned in exposing every nook and cranny on his ghastly, yet ultimately, human character. Then, you could move on.
Now, ITV have decided to break another taboo, by portraying one of Britain’s grisliest serial killers, Fred West. While Hitler was given a period of 50 odd years to be represented on screen, it is understandable that the cries of ‘too soon’ are audible given that Fred West escaped punishment, custody and this earth no more than 17 years ago, for a litany of some of the most horrendous and brutal serial killings the UK had ever known. A grossly perverted and mentally erratic individual, this character streak made his victims suffer more, and his acts more vile and unfathomable. It also meant his character was more complex, straddling a scary dichotomy of both a strange charm and deranged sociopathy. In other words, perhaps a character whose portrayal on screen may lead us to gain some more insights about just what he was like…
A less infamous West, Dominic, has bravely assumed the mantle of playing Fred, in his latest effort to scrub the lustre of Jimmy McNulty from his acting career. And he may have just done so, being one of many outstanding aspects of ITV’s ‘Appropriate Adult.’ On paper, the drama is geared more towards the story of Fred West’s ‘Appropriate Adult’, Janet Leach, (Emily Watson) who was present throughout the investigation and grisly confessions. While it is a slight curveball, and a tad more politically correct to have the story told from Leach’s perspective, there is no denying that Fred and Rosemary (Monica Dolan) are the core of this, gripping the viewer with every, skin crawling second on screen, whether it is through a subtle nuance, Fred’s happy go lucky way of frankly admitting the most macabre of crimes, or Rosemary’s genuinely frightening fits of rage.
Just representing the gruesome twosome was enough of a maverick move by ITV in itself. But the fact that their portrayal was quite ordinary on the surface, and indeed, laced with the odd moments of comedy, extremely dark comedy, but comedy nonetheless, was even more daring. Those who will glance at this will be appalled, and be queuing up to call OFCOM, bit on closer inspection, this is this kind of subtlety that has made Appropriate Adult one of the most outstanding dramas to grace a TV screen in a long time.
It is odd to see Fred West as a human, and particularly as this is not a straight up villification. Just like the charming Fred West who approached random, vulnerable women, he must have seemed simple and innocuous in person initially. In other words, the way ITV and Dominic West have decided to portray him. However, the brilliance is in the fact that, once you read between the lines of West’s performance and dialogue, his casual grotesque talk, his eerie charm, and the sheer absurdity of it all, you are overcome by a subliminal and highly effective discomfort. West’s creepy facial expressions, and the glare of Rosemary’s eyes are enough to send shivers through your spine.
As a result, the attention to detail is the piece de resistance. Without alluding to anything in blunt dialogue, and utterly resisting the temptation to paint either of them as vile monsters, instead, the slow and voyeuristic trips through the interior of Cromwell Street were enough to pierce your core with a horrible revulsion, and grim awareness of how depraved and sordid this entire scenario had been. And although Fred would reel off charming lines, and play the naive simpleton, the imagery, and expressions that lay beneath were enough to lay everything so horribly bare. I recall when I was younger, and something in that ‘25 Cromwell Street’ sign used to always fill me with deep unease. Here, the entire house seemed to have painstakingly recreated that effect, only it is supplemented by the characters of Fred and Rosemary filling the poisoned air, and a repulsive insight into what their lives were like.
Watson, as Leach, fittingly provides a core conceit for how we, as society, reacted and dealt with the West’s. Although society’s reaction can never match that of the victim’s families themselves, we, like Leach, would have been naive, ill equipped, all of a sudden exposed, traumatised, yet for some reason, felt she had to go back for more even though it was the worst thing to do. Given that Appropriate Adult continues next Sunday Night with its second part, going back for more is exactly what we will do. It has everything, despite its moments of dark comedy, it is discomforting, but via the medium of utterly compelling and riveting drama. This is just great television, with extremely meaty subject matter.
Perhaps a large taboo has been broken by finally portraying such an abhorrent soul as Fred West. By doing it in such convincing and grimacing style however, is probably the largest step to putting getting over the atrocity of all things Fred West once and for all, if that is in any way possible. ITV must take credit for such a sterling approach, and in particular, Dominic West and Monica Dolan and to a lesser extent, Emily Watson, for such a vivid portrayal of a horrifically difficult chapter of recent English history. Check out the first part here on ITV Player, and the second part continues next Sunday night(11/09/2011)
