Dead Gorgeous

In a grey, post war London, where continuing austerity and rationing have all but extinguished the final exuberant spark of V. E. Day, two bitterly unhappily married old friends are reunited purely by co-incidence.

The once rakish wing commander and war hero (Jonny Phillips) has, in Civvy Street, become a dour, domineering, philandering husband to subservient Fay Ripley. A boozy bully, he possesses all the charm of an unflushed loo! Her spirit broken, she seems resigned to her fate as the little woman, with nothing more than a lifetime of berating and belittling ahead of her.

Fascinated by the size of his wallet, brash, beautiful and vivacious Helen McCrory is married to wealthy, but tedious industrialist, Ron Cook. Short, stout and with some language limitations, his occasional gaffs simply draw disdain and derision from the exasperated McCrory, to whom he has gifted London's largest domestic refrigerator........The perfect acquisition for a wife who never food shops and can't cook!

Oozing pizzazz and self confidence, the ever effervescent McCrory is only too willing to rid her newly found buddy of her problem partner, creating the potential for a double whammy, with an insurance payout in the pipeline. The one good turn deserves another mantra does not sit quite so comfortably with the cautious, timid and decent Ripley. How will she respond to the expectations of her headstrong, at times overpowering friend?

Not especially suspenseful, but with a distinct nod in the direction of 'Strangers on a Train', a passing glance at 'Torn Curtain' and a fleeting glimpse of 'Saboteur', there is an undeniable, if playful, Hitchcockian flavour to 'Dead Gorgeous'.

The two superb actresses complement each other perfectly. McRory's virulent verbal outbursts and tantalizing facial expressions serve to endorse the view that a hugely gifted artist and national treasure has been lost. The talented Miss Ripley is equally impressive as the meek, mousey, toiling housewife, almost unwittingly dragged into a rolling chain of events, which at once solve a serious dilemma, while sparking a whole raft of more alarming ones.

Based on the 1989 novel On the Edge by Peter Lovesey. Dead Gorgeous owes a debt to Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train.

It is black comedy thriller set in post World War 2 Britain. Antonia Ashton (Helen McCrory) is a vixen married to dull business tycoon Hector (Ron Cook.)

Antonia finds him dull, she is cheating on him with a younger man. Only she would end up less wealthy if they got divorced.

Rose Bell (Fay Ripley) is a meek woman living almost on the breadline. Her husband is miserly civil servant, Barry. He is also a boorish drunk who abuses Rose.

Rose later discovers that Barry has been cheating on her with another woman. Hence why they are poor, he has another family to raise.

Both women knew each other during the war and reconnect. Only Antonia, a devious schemer hatches a plan to get rid of both husbands.

Antonia arranges Barry's death in a tube train accident. She expects Rose to commit an accidental death on Hector.

Maybe not original, this is a sumptuous period drama. It works as both Hector and Rose are basically decent people. Not people that should either be victims or be on the wrong side of the law.

McCrory has fun as the glamorous underhanded cheater.

Other reviewers have covered the broad plot, flight money mad Antonia (McCrory -- RIP) wants to shed her boring husband Hector, but without shedding all his money too!

Dowdy vicar's daughter Rose has got fed up with her ex-fighter pilot hubby, who goes out drinking, beats her up and keeps her short of money.

They're old friends, and accidentally meet -- with Antonia soon hatching a plan to get rid of both husbands, so she can swan off with her boyfriend AND keep the cash on tap!

The support cast nicely portray the degree of suspicion around the first death -- how could a pilot just fall off a Tube platform? -- but can shy Rose carry off her part of the bargain and get rid of Hector?

That gets more complicated when they meet, and get on well together -- could there be another way that Antonia can escape with the wealth she adores?

You can watch this and may think the actual ending is quite clever, and there are some nice comic touches. I'm afraid I marked the film down a little just because I thought the ending was frankly daft, if you check the details, hopefully you'll see why!

But the 2 female leads are excellent, and Ron Cook, who's been in masses of support roles, does well in his unglamorous part.

Just after the end of the Second World War, two women, unhappy in their marriages, meet up and discover a potential answer to both of their 'problems.'

I've just finished watching this; I wanted to see it so badly that I had to buy the American release and then buy a multi-regional playing DVD player. But in all honesty, all the fuss was worth it. I bought it because I'm a massive Helen McCrory fan; she's a favourite actor of mine, and naturally, she does not disappoint.

Fay Ripley is great, but Helen McCrory steals the show as Antonia; she's much missed.

Visually, it's great; historically, it's on point. McCrory has some fabulous costumes to wear. Not much to say, really-just wonderful from start to finish. There are a few surprises along the way in this amusing tale of bumping off unwanted husbands.

I see a lot of users have commented on the Hitchcock familiarity. When you see Antonia bumping off Wing Commander at the train station, you can see why. It's a great one-off drama, it deserves to be repeated on ITV sooner rather than later.

10/10.

I disagree with Flickman's review. I found it very intriguing and pretty tightly-woven. While there were slow moments, I thought most of the film moved at a pretty good clip and I was quite pleased with it. I found it far better than passable.