''Murder in Greenwich'' is a 2002 American

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

directed by

Tom McLoughlin Thomas Maurice "Tom" McLoughlin is an American screenwriter, film director, film/television director and former pantomime, mime who is most notable for directing ''Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives'' and ''One Dark Night''. His other credits ...

. The teleplay by

Dave Erickson David C. Erickson is an American television writer and producer best known for co-creating ''Fear the Walking Dead'' with Robert Kirkman, for which he was showrunner until the end of the third season; he stepped down in order to make more shows f ...

is based on the 1998 book of the same title by

Mark Fuhrman Mark Fuhrman (born February 5, 1952) is a former detective of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). He is primarily known for his part in the investigation of the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in the O. J. Simpson m ...

. The film was produced by

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...

, debuted on the

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

on November 15, 2002, and was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

on May 6, 2003.

Plot

The film is narrated by Martha Moxley (

Maggie Grace Margaret Grace Denig (born September 21, 1983) is an American actress. She is known for playing Shannon Rutherford on the ABC television series '' Lost'' (2004–2006; 2010), Kim Mills in the '' Taken'' trilogy (2008–2014), Irina in ''The T ...

), whose brutal murder sometime between 10 p.m. on October 30 and the early morning hours of October 31, 1975, remains unsolved in 1997. Mark Fuhrman, a former

Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

detective who gained notoriety during the O. J. Simpson's murder trial, is intrigued by the case and travels to

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich ( ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 63,518. It is the largest town on Gold Coast (Connecticut), Connectic ...

, to conduct an investigation of his own. Local authorities resent an outsider, especially one with a reputation as tarnished as Fuhrman's, invading their turf. They do everything they can to block Fuhrman's access to official reports. The film alternates between flashbacks of the events leading up to the murder and scenes set in the present day, which chronicle Fuhrman's frustration and interactions with Steve Carroll, the original investigator who grudgingly assists him. Their efforts ultimately bring

Kennedy Kennedy may refer to: People * Kennedy (surname), including any of several people with that surname ** Kennedy family, a prominent American political family that includes: *** Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (1888–1969), American businessman, investor, ...

relative and former Moxley neighbor Michael Skakel to justice.

Cast

Christopher Meloni Christopher Peter Meloni (; born April 2, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for portraying NYPD Detective Elliot Stabler on the NBC legal drama series '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (1999–2011, 2021–present) and its spin-off '' ...

Robert Forster Robert Wallace Foster Jr. (July 13, 1941 – October 11, 2019), known professionally as Robert Forster, was an American actor. He made his screen debut as Private L.G. Williams in John Huston's '' Reflections in a Golden Eye'' (1967), followed ...

as Steve Carroll *

as Martha Moxley *

Jon Foster Jon Foster (born August 3, 1984) is an American actor. His films include the drama '' The Door in the Floor'' (2004), the horror film '' Stay Alive'' (2006), the thriller '' Brotherhood'' (2010), and the drama ''Rampart'' (2011). Foster is a co- ...

as Michael Skakel * Toby Moore as Thomas Skakel *

Liddy Holloway Elizabeth Brenda "Liddy" Holloway (27 March 1947 – 29 December 2004) was a New Zealand actress and television scriptwriter. Career Born in Wellington, New Zealand, the daughter of a politician, Phil Holloway, Liddy Holloway originally worke ...

Dorthy Moxley Dorthy Elaine Moxley (; June 5, 1932 – December 24, 2024) was an American educator and crime victim advocate. She became involved in public and legal efforts following the 1975 murder of her daughter, Martha Moxley, in Greenwich, Connecticut. ...

Rose McIver Frances Rose McIver (born 10 October 1988) is a New Zealand actress. She portrays Samantha Arondekar in the CBS supernatural sitcom ''Ghosts'' (2021–present), Olivia "Liv" Moore in The CW supernatural comedy-drama series '' iZombie'' (2015–2 ...

as Sheila McGuire

Critical reception

Michael Speier of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said, "Investigative techniques give way to genre cliches in USA's exaggerated ''Murder in Greenwich''. Falling into the telepic trap of

sensationalism In journalism and mass media, sensationalism is a type of editorial tactic. Events and topics in news stories are selected and worded to excite the greatest number of readers and viewers. This style of news reporting encourages biased or emoti ...

without savvy, tdelves into the shallow end of the Martha Moxley-Michael Skakel case, which has plenty more politics, intrigue and confounding history than this execution suggests . . . As Fuhrman, Meloni is macho almost to the point of bogus; whether he's playing the disgraced cop as he really is or how he thinks America sees him is hard to discern." Robert Pardi of ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' awarded the film two out of four stars and observed, "Despite the assured teamwork of Meloni and Forster, Tom McLoughlin's film . . . fails to build upon its inherently suspenseful elements or extract much juice from the gossipy Kennedy allure. But viewers with little prior knowledge of the case may find themselves caught up in this dismaying tale of justice delayed."

References

External links

* {{Tom McLoughlin 2002 films 2002 television films American docudrama films Films scored by Don Davis (composer) Films based on non-fiction books Films directed by Tom McLoughlin Films set in 1975 Films set in 1997 Films set in Connecticut USA Network original films USA Network original programming American drama television films 2000s American films