Leofwine_draca
RILLINGTON PLACE once again sees the BBC come a cropper with their reworking of period-set drama. To my mind, the Richard Attenborough film version of 1971 is pretty much untouchable, an acting masterclass with matter-of-fact direction that makes the depicted events all the more shocking thanks to their gritty realism. By comparison, this 3 hour marathon is all about directorial style: ominous music, gloomy interiors, desperate attempts to build suspense. And none of it works.The only person who comes out of this with any shred of credibility is Tim Roth. He's acceptable, but underplays it and mumbles a lot. No patch on Attenborough, of course, but at least he's acting. Samantha Morton isn't bad either, but given very little to do aside from the usual 'downtrodden' role she so often plays. The pace is languid and unhurried, and the depicted events are played out surprisingly subtle. I never felt shocked or repulsed once, just bored by the endless tedium. The entire first episode does nothing aside from setting up the main characters, and the film version contains about ten times the amount of atmosphere, realism, and power. By contrast, this one's a dud.
Paul Evans
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
Simon Firth
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.
keith-618
Another look at the Christie serial killer saga starring Tim Roth and Samantha Morton - what could possibly go wrong? Quite a lot as it turns out mostly connected to the name of Craig Viveiros the director. The acting throughout was fine but the director decided to make the whole enterprise in the mode of a horror movie complete with dark lighting, dark sinister music and slo-mo sequences with yet more dark sinister soundscapes. The scenes that worked best had no music at all and were quite sinister enough because of the work and effort the actors had invested in them. Why Mr Viveiros decided that the audience would find it necessary to add a music track and film techniques to tell us what to think is beyond me? I addition to these shortcomings of the director. I must also add that there's almost no detail about the murders - no modus operandi - in fact, no fact! After the second episode I was compelled to look up Wikipedia and learned more in five minutes than I had in two hours. I persevered with the third episode partly so as not to waste the previous two hours but also because I was enticed by Tim Roth and Samantha Morton's performances. But in spite of them the whole experience still left me wishing I'd watched the movie with Richard Attenborough instead. Maybe I will do that anyway.