La rédemption de Fanny Lye

A magnificent tale of a downtrodden wife and mother who is beat down by her bully, self-important husband who regularly beats both her and their little son for no reason other than he hates. He hates her, women, children who love their mother, the world, and himself. He is truly a child of his time; that time is 1657, during the cycle of English Civil Wars. One day as they arrive home to their farm from church (her husband riding the horse while she and the child walk) they find they have been invaded. A young couple has run to their secluded farm to hide out. What will the uber judgmental man of the farm do with them? This movie is not only authentic and beautifully made but it had my jaw dropping a couple of times. The cast is superb, especially that Peter McDonald as the High Sheriff for the Council of State. There isn't a sour note in the whole work.

I was ready to turn this movie off. It's a period piece. Cromwell's in charge, the King was executed and a brutal war recently ended. I was bored. I would have rated it a 5, but the solid acting brought it up to 6.

About two thirds of the way through, there is a plot twist or two which were quite unexpected and gave the movie a bonus star. Try to stay until the credits run, as there is an epilogue which makes me now question if the movie was based on a real person.

I attempt to watch all the historical films no matter how bad they are due to my love for history. I saw some articles about the films journey and struggles to get it filmed edited and released. I was hoping that the journey of making Fanny Lye was as good as the end product. It was! Though the story felt rushed at one small section, and the sheriff contrasts heavily with other characters, the film provides high historical accuracy in an area cinema has rarely covered. It was a blast to watch and the almost 2 hour runtime somehow felt way shorter. Fox provided such a vibrant cunning show and his chemistry on-screen with Charles Dance was something amazing!!!! I can see where some reviews are coming from with negativity as the film is no where near the sort of expectations a historical film tells, no super ordinary humans, just a regular 1600s family. But this film deserves a chance to be watched and a chance for an open mind to experience an era that you will probably never watch or hear of for many years in the future.

Very good film but sometimes it navigates away from the focus a bit too much unintentionally. Still loved it!

... have a tough time establishing a base to grow as they are mistaken for heretics in 17th century England by Monty Python's Spanish Inquisition disguised as puritanical nutters - undeliver'd!