Amber Frey: Witness for the Prosecution

I caught this movie on Sky Premiere this week and it filled 80 minutes. Being from the UK, I had no baggage coming to this film. I understand that the case received saturation coverage in the US, featuring as it does the essential ingredients of murder, sex and betrayal. I didn't realise that the screenplay was adapted from a book by Amber Frey, which clearly put the balance in her favour. During the movie, she came across as a person of integrity and high morals. What a surprise then, when I searched her on Google after watching the movie, to discover that she had written the required book, appeared on numerous chat shows, sold the film rights, etc.

Ah well, I suppose you can't blame someone for making a buck or two.

The film itself is serviceable but bland as you would expect of a TV movie. The central roles are all played by actors who bear a startling resemblance to their real-life counterparts. None more so than the actress Janel Moloney playing the role of Amber Frey. I am not familiar with Moloney's work in the West Wing but I assume her soporific turn here was a reflection of the real-life nature of Frey. If it's not - then, please excuse me, but this was a performance that ran the gamut of emotions from A to B. Considering the situation she found herself in I am surprised she remained so calm and composed - almost icy.

As usual in TV movies, there are huge leaps in the narrative and the audience is expected to fill in the holes. For example, one minute she is alone in the world after the revelations about her ex-boyfriend, the next, she is in bed with a massage colleague and has been made pregnant by him.

Finally, the courtroom scenes built up no tension whatsoever. They seemed tacked on almost as an afterthought.

All in all, it passed the 80 minutes, but if it had been a moment longer, it would have been too long.

There is probably a decent film to be made of this case - this ain't it.

I just finished watching this movie and was amazed on how Amber's story was portrayed. I myself followed the story along by reading tabloid magazines and this movie helped me see all the pain and suffering Amber went through. It portrayed the truth with amazing precision. Janel Moloney played the beautiful blonde Amber Frey so you could understand every single thing about Amber Frey during the time this all happened. All of the actors were great. I look forward to seeing them in the future. "Amber Frey: Witness for the Prosecution" is a power-house, compelling drama. Even the fake tabloids they had were so realistic. I loved this movie and can't wait to see it again. It really makes you think.

A very well done, made for TV movie, I thought, detailing the complicated relationship between Amber Frey and Scott Peterson, convicted of murdering his wife Lacy and unborn son. I first want to give credit to the lead actors here - Janel Moloney as Amber, and Nathan Anderson as Scott. To me, both of them absolutely nailed these parts, and created a completely believable recreation of the relationship. Moloney was especially convincing, particularly after the truth about first Scott's marriage, and then the death of his wife comes out. Her confusion, uncertainty, anger, hurt and fear all seemed very real. Scott's charisma, and his ability to sweep Amber off her feet while developing a completely convincing alternative lifestyle and apparently being able to maintain the pretense of loving husband and father to be (even Lacy's parents didn't even suspect that he could have had anything to do with her death) create a chilling portrait of a sociopath.

The movie opens with Amber on the witness stand (thus the title; I admit that I was a bit put off at first that the producers chose for what I expected to be a tabloid-style TV melodrama a title that is best known as a classic British film from the 1940's, but the title does fit once the context is known), and the impression is that the story is a visual recreation of her testimony at Scott's trial. In that context, it's worth mentioning another impressive performance - that of John Rubinstein as Scott's attorney Mark Geragos. It's perhaps limited in some respects by its made for TV status, but in all honesty I don't know that there was enough in the Amber-Scott relationship to carry a full length feature film. This was just enough to be satisfying. 8/10

I am not usually one for TV movies, but since Janel Moloney was playing the lead I decided to watch. This movie was based on the book written by Amber Frey, so it feels a bit slanted toward her perspective. (But I suppose she is the title character!) That being said, the movie seemed a good summary of the events surrounding the disappearance/murder of Laci Peterson that I had not followed despite the incessant news coverage of 2003-2004. The acting throughout was sufficient for what ultimately boils down to a murder investigation. Ms. Moloney plays a convincing Amber Frey (their physical resemblance was striking). (Casting should have gone after Ben Affleck for Scott Peterson - see SNL's Weekend Update from November 13, 2004.) Nothing too creative in terms of editing, as I found the second half to drag in terms of the story's flow. And did Zondervan books sponsor this production? The inclusion of "The Purpose Driven Life" seemed forced, and only appears to try to paint Amber Frey in an even more righteous light. I am not certain what purpose Scott Peterson's life will serve on Death Row. And the portrayal of Laci's mother, while touching, seemed to indicate that she'd lost all her children when in fact there is an older brother (Brent) and a half-sister (Amy). All-in-all, a decent portrayal of recent 'news' events.

A comment about this movie I read in a newspaper said, in essence, "Just in case you've been in a cave for the past two years, Amber Frey was Scott Peterson's mistress".

Okay, I must have been in a cave.

Why would I want anything to do with this tawdry story? When "The West Wing" first came on the air, I only liked one character--The President. It took a while before anyone else made me want to watch that boring show for any reason other than an intriguing plot line.

While Janel Moloney wasn't quite like Donna Moss, some of Donna's personality showed through. Frey came across as pleasant, a devoted mother, and determined to succeed in a career. Frey had a strong religious faith, though I don't understand how she could have thought sex outside of marriage was acceptable. Most churches condemn that. Anyway, her relationship with Peterson was anything but tawdry, based on the assumption she believed him. It was only later, when the truth came out, that Frey's relationship could be seen as national news. Even then, the media circus was not justified, and I thought it was a shame. Frey even became friends with people I thought would hate her.

This was a pretty standard TV-movie. Not too bad, but about what one would expect.