L'Âge de vivre

A shocking portrayal of the use of the Death Penalty in the United Kingdom during the 1950's. A mentally unstable young man with epilepsy called Derek Bentley faces the gallows for a crime he did not commit, While the accomplice, Christopher Craig, who did fire the fatal shot, only serves time at Her Majesties Pleasure. In reality Christopher Craig only served 10 years while Derek Bentley had his life taken away. A gritty drama telling of Bentley and Craig's criminal exploits in South London shortly after the war.

I did not know about this case before I watched this film, but the synopsis on the back of the video case was so compelling I had to rent it. I did not expect to be emotionally involved but it was hard to keep from shouting at the TV screen that it's unfair. The system portrayed seemed almost hellbent on sending Derek to the gallows, guilty or not. Even when evidence seem tainted or appeared to cast doubts on the veracity of some of the testimonies, the only cry ringing out was that a cop was killed and someone's blood must be spilled in revenge. It is chilling to know that sometimes justice can be blinded when emotions are involved, showing how important it must be to fully understand the implications before imposing any penalties which cannot be reversed even if desired.

Derek Bentley a partly retarded youth due to an injury as a child in a bombing raid in World War 11 becomes involved with Christopher Craig and other anti-social misfits called "teddy boys" during the early 1950's.

In November 1952 Craig, with Bentley under his influence decide to rob a confectionery business in Croydon, London but are observed climbing onto the roof of the building and are reported to the police.

When the police arrive and apprehend the youths, Craig opens fire on the officers from a concealed gun killing P.C. Miles, although Bentley has already surrendered beforehand to Detective Fairfax, already wounded by Craig in an earlier part of the shootout.

At the following trial of the two youths for murder, the already biased Lord Chief Justice Goddard is determined to exact the supreme vengeance on the perpetrators of this crime. Craig who fired the shot killing the Police Constable is detained at Her Majesty's pleasure being a juvenile under the age of 16 years. Bentley aged 19 and considered an adult is sentenced to death as an accomplice.

Despite a public outcry over Bentley's fate, and petitions made to save him from the gallows, the Home Secretary Sir David Maxwell Fyfe refuses to grant him a reprieve,and Bentley is hanged on 28th January 1953.

The great irony of this case is that the Home Secretary was the successful chief British Prosecutor of the Nazi War Criminals in 1946 in Nuremburg but tarnished his reputation in a most disgraceful manner in the way he treated the semi-illiterate Derek Bentley who was made the condemned victim for his part in this crime because the real killer could not face the supreme penalty.

The other most shameful and disgusting aspect of this case is that it took over 45 years for the unforgiving self righteous British law courts and representations to the various Governments of the day, to finally overturn the conviction of Derek Bentley, although both his parents had died beforehand, but at least give the rest of his surviving family the satisfaction of knowing that his sentence was totally improper and unjust.

Christopher Eccleston gives a fine performance as Derek Bentley, along with Tom Courtenay as Bentley's father, who wages a relentless but futile attempt to save his son from his fate. The rest of the supporting cast is great.

A must see for those who think justice is blind and fair to everyone.

The case of Derek Bentley and Christopher Craig is perhaps one of the most famous miscarriages of justice in the UK. 'Let Him Have It', directed by Peter Medak tells the whole story in full, right up to the terrible death of Bentley. The film is predominantly set in the year 1952. Derek Bentley, aged nineteen, has had a difficult life from the beginning. The film begins by telling us a little about Derek's early life. We see that he suffers from learning difficulties and epilepsy, and often falls prey to temptation, getting into crime and gangs. He is caught, and spends most of his teenage years in an approved school. The film then jumps forward a further four years, and we finally meet the main Derek, aged nineteen, played by Christopher Eccleston. He soon meets Christopher Craig, and joins him as a friend. Throughout the first half of the film, we follow Bentley as he is drawn into a life of petty crime. This leads up to the grand climax of the film, the famous break-in which eventually turned into a murder scene. What follows, is a long and emotional journey through the weeks after Bentley is sentenced to death. As part of the English GCSE syllabus, we have been watching this film as part of our media review project. I can't say I enjoyed it - it has a very depressing and upsetting plot line - but it was a very well made and interesting portrayal of the story.

This movie is one of the saddest pictures ever made. Made even more sad by the fact that this is based on a true story. I couldn't believe this was Christopher Eccleston's 2nd movie; I hadn't seen him in anything before JUDE. I'm utterly speechless to talk about this movie. I noticed someone commented saying this is like DEAD MAN WALKING; that movie does not compare to this. Bare in mind that LET HIM HAVE IT WAS MADE 4 years before DMW. I felt this one was much, much, much more rendering and mournful. God bless you Brits for making films on social content with such potency; American audiences could take a lesson from you: SCUM, LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER, ALFIE, ...if, TRAINSPOTTING (best movie ever made)