I'm old enough to remember capital punishment and well remember the Christie case of 10 Rillington Place because it was so horrific. I can't remember the Ruth Ellis case though but may have just forgotten it. Christie deserved to be executed but Ellis probably not. What bothered me watching this mini series, starring Lucy Boynton as Ellis, highlighted for me how little discrimination there was between the two killers I've mentioned. If found guilty, they were hanged, regardless of the obvious differences in their motives. Ellis' was a crime of passion and caused her to lose control, whereas Christie was just evil. The Ellis case helped to end our barbaric sentencing procedure and blanket death sentences.
To the series, Lucy does a fair job of portraying Ruth although I thought she was a bit posh. Ellis was Welsh and the accent seemed wrong. Toby Jones I love to watch in anything as his mastery of the camera is always a joy. Nigel Havers pops up playing his own grandfather, Cecil, who had to sentence Ruth. Nigel has said that his grandfather was upset with this case and tried unsuccessfully to have it overturned.
Ruth murdered her lover David, by shooting him at close range four times as he came out of a pub. The series shows their relationship and subsequent turn of events. I do wish that current casting didn't distort history as we know Ruth's prison warden was not as shown in the series.
It kept me watching in spite of knowing the outcome, mainly because I like the leading actors and the directing was good.
