Rillington Place

Many are saying this is slow and it is, but its done in a masterful way which builds to the end that we all know. For me, what makes this a joy is the remarkable acting.

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.

If only to provide some contrast to the slightly negative reviews, I must say I thought this was a superb production.

Roth's whispering was as intentional as was the shifting accent of a character who was wanting to 'fit in' with any environment he found himself in.

A thoroughly unnerving performance by Roth, admirably supported by Morton's portrayal of a character seemingly unable to find her voice all contributed to a very unsettling, but rewarding viewing pleasure.

It too lead me to Wiki for a round up of the historical facts and travesties of justice.

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.

Being a TV series Rillington Place can (and does) go into so much more detail. Unlike the film, this is also about the life of his poor wife Ethel and the ill-fated Timothy Evans. The squalid area of Notting Hill and the dimly lit streets, look like something out of the darkest Victorian times and the conditions are almost inhuman. The feel and vibe is very creepy and leaves a lot to the imagination, right up the the final third of the last episode (of three). Depressing but a gripping true story. Tim Roth is magnificent and Just like the original movie, this will burn deeply, disturbing your mind.