evening1
I wasn't surprised to see that Rob Lowe soars here as prosecutor Jeff Ashton, who went head-to-head with Jose Baez in the notorious 2012 trial of Casey Anthony.This film portrays the Florida single mother as a manipulative liar who concocted her defense out of whole cloth, accusing her white-haired father -- seated in court every day -- of sexually abusing her as a child.Lowe is a very attractive man, but that doesn't detract from his believability as a state's attorney eager to win justice for a 3-year-old whom he said was killed because Casey wanted to party.Also excellent in this film is Oscar Nunez as Baez -- initially believed to lack the experience to argue a death-penalty case -- and Kevin Dunn as Casey's father, George. The older man comes across as a simple and sincere soul who tried to do right by testifying for the state.Ms. Anthony was eventually acquitted of killing her only child in a verdict that stunned many.Viewing this, I was struck by the inequality of burdens in this country between the prosecution and the defense. The state can't even bring a case unless it has enough evidence to justify a conviction. The defense can tell any story it likes, without having to prove a word of it. This is part of what makes America great. We trust that jurors will be reasonable and responsible. In this case, three words echo in one's mind -- Alas, poor Cayley!
aesgaard41
First off, I agree with everyone that we did not need to see a movie about the most hated and despicable woman of the Twentieth Century, but with the film more focused on Rob Lowe and the prosecution, it becomes much more easier to see how a trained attorney with such an easy case could lose to a shifty lawyer over a morally-deficient and completely repugnant waste of human life. No one in the world is stupid enough to believe that Caycee Anthony's father covered up what was being passed off as an alleged poolside accident. Anthony herself had a long history of lies, deception and immoral issues; all you needed was to psychoanalyze her and bring twelve to fifteen character witnesses of her record of behavior to prove she very likely killed her daughter. To say she was incapable of murder is like saying Jack The Ripper was just a little girl crazy or that Lizzie Borden only had daddy-issues. The movie runs a little short at two hours. To get the full impact of the case on the public, it really needs two parts. Rob Lowe plays his character with conviction, and his opponent Oscar Nunez is equally capable depicting Jose Baez as just a bit shady. Instead of trying to get to the truth, he endorses the lie with gusto and attacks those trying to get to the truth. This is the antithesis of a witch-hunt; you can't prove your client innocent so you just attack the state's case, and let's not forget the talented actress who actually "plays" Caycee. I can't imagine any actress even wanting the role, but she's got Caycee's cold vacuous empty stare down perfect. To tell the truth, there's no story or a lot of behind the scenes exposition as there was on a movie like "JFK," the movie is almost a step by step re-enactment of the court transcripts, but then it is a Made-For-TV movie so that kind of exposition would not be included to fit it into a time slot. The movie is worth a watch for a true crime buff or someone with the remotest unfamiliarity of the case, but like everyone else who lived it, no one wants to be reminded that someone got away with murdering their own daughter.
edwagreen
Rob Lowe looked too young to be playing a prosecuting attorney with 30 years experience stating that this would be his last case.The movie was informative and showed a jury that was very much not in sync with 94% of the population who thought Ms. Anthony was guilty.Note how little screen time was devoted to the Anthony character.Unless the writing went astray, there certainly was controversy regarding the chloroform/ duct taping of the child.Nonetheless, this was a riveting film with Lowe giving one of his best performances in years as a slick prosecutor brought to humility at the jury's verdict.
rongan
One of the better made for TV movies about a real murder trial - very informative in so little time. My only complaint is the long and many commercials.I thought the acting was quite good. The actual woman prosecutor during her endless opening statement was quite boring (it's on Youtube). The actress who played her was not – maybe that was poor acting.After viewing it I could understand why it wasn't a slam dunk murder conviction.Also the movie showed at least two jurors glaring at the prosecutor as if they didn't trust or like them. I felt the same way.It's entertaining and moves along at a good pace. Watch it with an open mind and you might enjoy it.