Rillington Place

I have wondered for many years why there had been no attempt to retell the grizzly story of the goings on at number 10 Rillington Place. The fabulous 1971 version featuring the marvellous Richard Attenborough will live on as a classic forever. So once again, well done BBC for retelling a story in such a thorough and compelling way.

The three hour format worked well, it allowed the story to develop naturally, at no point did it feel rushed, each character was given time to deliver.

Tim Roth was sensational in the role of Christie, softly spoken, calm, yet monstrous and conniving, I believed utterly in the character he portrayed. He certainly looked the part also. It feels unkind to say that Samantha Morton is a safe pair of hands, but that she is, an actress of immense talent, who always seems to deliver the goods, a super performance as Mrs Christie.

This drama made me curious about the case, and I've picked up a book for some further reading.

If I was brutally honest, I'd say Part 1 was a little too slow, and felt like it had been padded out, twenty minutes into the second part though it takes a very sinister turn, and transforms into something nasty, but enthralling.

Harsh, unnerving, but very impressive. 9/10

Cannot believe anyone gave this less than 9/10! The suspense, mood, performances are the best thing I've seen for a very long time- including cinema, TV, or DVD. Samantha Morton & Tim Roth, whom I've long admired, are nothing short of superb in their understanding of the characters, their tenuous daily existence, the era in which they lived and their relationship. Samantha Morton's portrayal also speaks volumes about a 'woman's place' in society & in a marriage in those times. Tim Roth had me recognising the complete lack of emotion that Christie masked, READILY, with appropriate & socially accepted comments and lies; and the ability to portray himself as the victim, as employed by true psychopaths. This is deep and unnerving if you really think about it. Who lives next door to YOU?

Tim Roth plays the notorious serial killer John "Reg" Christie with bone-chilling eeriness, a masterly performance to no small extent aided by the cinematography and lighting, which would have had Hitchcock nodding in approval, and which borders as closely on the exagerrated as it gets without overstepping the line (in my opinion). The set design provides the appropriately grim backdrop of the poorer areas of 1940s and 1950s London, and the soundtrack is certainly enough to make anybody lie awake wondering what might be lurking under the floorboards of the house you just moved into. The story is very well told, leaving enough for the viewer's imagination to add to the horror as the ghastly details creep into your mind. But there is a piece missing at the very end, as if the director suddenly realised that the allotted running time was quickly running out, and had to cut out a large chunk without forethought. That, unfortunately, takes away a few stars from what would otherwise have been a little masterpiece, but which is now left marred by an ending that seems oddly thrown together with too many loose ends dangling. Nevertheless, it's well worth a watch - you'll never look at your balding uncle the same way again.

The slow pace of this is like that of a snail leaving a trail of slime.

The lighting is dark. The setting dim and dirty. Squalid but normal given the time and place.

Tim Roth is so convincingly creepy and his speech, whispery and spare, so steeped in threat, it's a task just to undertake to watch each next horrible installment.

Horrible as in effective.

There is no actual violence and yet it is as if every single second of the entire production is violent.

I'd give it a higher rating, in that I think it is so evocative, but the subject matter is too dark and I prefer to save high marks for work that stimulates us to loftier places.

Still, simply as art, all the skills are wonderful. The actors excellent. The writing terrifying.

I wouldn't have undertaken to write a review at all, but at this juncture there are only two other reviews, neither of which seem, to me, to 'get it.' So here is another view.

They don't make many well acted murder series from the perspective the killer. This series is certainly interesting and well made. It makes a difference when you have actors who are at the top of their craft. I was not aware of the murders or Mr. Christie.