holywd-34463 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?

paul2001sw-1 True serial killers are mercifully rare. But Reginald Christie strangled six women for no good motive, and an innocent man, Timonthy Evans, was sentenced to death for one of those before Christie's guilt became unarguable. In 'Rillington Place', Tim Roth is excellent as the mass murderer, a sad little man for whom you might feel sorry if not for his method of relieving his frustrations. There's absolutely no hint of Hannibal Lecter about this man; yet he was horrifyingly effective in what he did. Overall, however, the drama is mostly painful, and while this is probably inevitable, what is lacking is a sense of ordinary life going on around the sad world of the Christie family. Instead, we see a world only of smog, austerity, and a mood of unremitting gloom - if London was really as dreary as this, it's a wonder there weren't thousands of Christies, not just one.

grasswhisperer While the acting of the principal actors is fine, especially Tim Roth. this mini-series just drags on and on. The way they have set up the narrative is odd and it just plods along. The story is mildly interesting because it was the mishandling of the case against Timothy Evans and his subsequent execution that eventually led to the abolition of the death penalty in the UK. The series is very dark and the ending is abrupt. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone despite the fact that it is from the BBC which has produced a lot of fine programming. Since this story has been told several times before, I am not sure why another telling was necessary.

Prismark10 Rillington Place is a three part drama based on the events of the 1940s and 50s when John Christie (Tim Roth) is said to have murdered at least eight women in his dinghy and dank Notting Hill flat. One of the victims was his wife.The first episode was from the point of view of Ethel Christie (Samantha Morton.) The Christie's have had a turbulent marriage where they have separated in the past and they have moved to London from Yorkshire. There is distrust as she suspects her husband cavorting with prostitutes in seedy pubs.The second episode focuses on dim Tim Evans, the young man in over his head as his wife dies during a botched abortion and daughter later disappears and he is framed for their deaths.The final episode really goes in for the kill, the lies John Christie tells at Evan's trial and then we see him get rid of his wife and others before the authorities figure out that they might have executed the wrong man.The series really is dark and depressing as the grim post war years. The tale is told in a jumbled up narrative. Roth speaks in a quiet voice, he admits to almost emulating writer Alan Bennett in his tone of voice. However this is a chilling, devious man, involved in criminal activities throughout his life ranging from stealing to assaulting a woman with a bat.Roth had a hard act to follow, Richard Attenborough played John Christie in the film 10 Rillington Place. Here Roth is hemmed in by the script because it builds up slowly to Christie's murderous spree and because it wants to approach the drama through different perspectives.While I admire the period setting, all dimly lit and rather squalid. I also found the series insipid when it should had been horrifying.