Watching the Drew Peterson "Untouchable" Movie Could Mean the Difference Between Life and Death

I've always loved Rob Lowe- and in this made for Lifetime film about the real-life antics of Drew Peterson which premieres January 21 at 8 pm/7c.  Lowe flexes his dramatic acting chops and proves he is so much more than a one-trick chiseled handsome face. He completely transforms himself  into the real-life  Chicago-area officer Drew Peterson, whose charming womanizing initially made him virtually “untouchable” and immune to being cast as a person of interest in the death of his third wife. And aided him in manipulating his much younger fourth wife to marry him.  Based on the true story, the film follows the sordid tale of  Peterson’s fall from grace after the mysterious disappearance of his fourth wife. Lowe manages to bring this middle-aged, narcissist to life, virtually embodying Peterson's  craggy facial characteristics and his wicked, egocentric take on life. But more than just being a voyeuristic journey into how Peterson manages to coerce women half  his age to wed him, the crux of this film is about the often silent emotional and physical abuse  wives (like Peterson's) deal with, and in this case the tragic end-result for Peterson's third and fourth wife, two women who were allegedly subjected to his torment and whose lives ended in tragedy.  

We all know someone, or maybe we know of someone peripherally who may have been in this situation. We know a woman who is in an abusive relationship. Maybe we see a bruise on her arm, or we see her panic when she misses her husband's phone call. Maybe we see him push her, but they both chalk it up to an accident. Maybe we're afraid to confront her. Maybe we don't want to embarrass her, so as her friends and family, we let these things slide. Maybe we hear him say things to her, as Drew said to his fourth wife, 'you are a slut, you are nothing without me'. And she reinterprets his statements and in response says, "Oh my husband doesn't mean to say those things to me, he does it because he loves me so much." Maybe we hear her say that and 120 other reasons why the way her husband treats her is not abuse and that it's just his way of loving her.

We wonder why women, like Drew Peterson's third and fourth wives, would have stayed with a man like that--we wonder what initially even drew them to him. In the case of his fourth wife-- Drew preyed on her weakness, her lack of family stability, her insecurities. He promised her safety, money and a better life. Peterson's fourth wife was like so many women who want to believe a man will be their prince charming- will sweep them off their feet and tie up their lives in a neat bow. Unfortunately there is always a price to pay- and for Drew's third and fourth wives, they each paid dearly.

So what are your options when you see a woman in  this position and how can you get her to leave before it's too late? Talk to her. Don't stop trying to convince that she is stronger than she thinks. Don't allow her to be manipulated. Find a way to mentally deprogram her-- physically find a way to take her out of the situation if you have the means to do so. Or take matters into your own hands and call the police- and if necessary go out of the jurisdiction of her local precinct. Never give up and don't allow her to reduce the situation to nothing more than her man's actions as merely being his means of declaring his love for her. Tell her she could very likely wind up dead, she could lose everything and most of all her life. And if it's at all possible, watch this movie with her-- perhaps she may see herself reflected in these two women whom Peterson violated. Or maybe she won't, but whatever you decide to do, please don't stop trying.