The Devil's Whore

I wasn't much of a fan of the English Civil War during History lessons at school. It was always difficult trying to decide which side to support. The glamorous, party loving Cavaliers or the serious, democratically minded, fair but boring round-heads....Watching The Devil's Whore I found my self switching sides again. However, kudos to Peter Flannery for making this period of history really interesting. This difficult period has never really been covered in movies or TV.

The whole cast is absolutely amazing. Peter Capaldi is great as a doomed king, Michael Fassbender is intense and stunning as Rainsborough but my favourites are John Simm and Andrea Riseborough. Both act their socks off and make me want to keep watching. The chemistry, sparring and respect between Sexby and Angelica is fascinating! Almost perfect...

Excellently entertaining series with some interesting slants on the history but I appreciate that the writers did not set out to create a drama-documentary. Although they did incorporate some historical accuracy, anyone not knowing the real history of the Civil War could/would be very confused by some of the content. The real Thomas Rainsborough did not marry someone called Angelica Fanshawe and he is buried in the now disappeared graveyard of St John's, Wapping.

Pity that IMD have posted a picture of John Simm/Sexby's stand-in rather than JS/Sexby himself!!!!!

I am also totally stunned that the makers of the series insisted that they could not find suitable filming locations in the UK. I could have suggested any number of suitable locations both privately owned (but the owners have allowed filming) and NT or English Heritage. It seems amazing that with so much Tudor and Jacobean property here, not to mention forests etc that they deemed it necessary to ship cast and crew several thousand miles away to South Africa.

I have little knowledge of the historical period on which this is based but it gave a pretty good idea of the socio political situation. All the actors were excellent and Michael Fassbender as Thomas Rainsborough was exceptional.

THE DEVIL'S MISTRESS (The Devil's Wh*re) (2008) was a pretty interesting series, that immediately drew me in with promises to learn more of the mysteries of the English Civil War (1636 - 1660) though it didn't necessarily live up to the high expectations it set in that regard, it was however, studded with a cast of stars, who all played their parts marvelously, flaws or not and offered insights into the era's turbulence, as well as political, social, moral, religious and sexual politics of the day, if not beheld from a modern eye.

It follows Angelica Fanshawe (Andrea Riseborough), a young "modern-minded" woman who sees strange visions of the devil, as the country is about to be torn in half with the impending civil war. She is torn between her Aristocratic Catholic identity and between her rising beliefs in the Rebel Leveller cause, rising up against the dated Monarchal/Aristocratic systems.

The cast was exceptional. Andrea Riseborough, John Simm, Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, Peter Capaldi, Tom Goodman-Hill, and Maxine Peake were all very memorable in their roles which made this series worth while. My favorite acted were John Simm (as the Edward Sexby), Peter Capaldi (as King Charles I), Michael Fassbender (as Thomas Rainsborough) and Andrea Riseborough (as Angelica Fanshawe).

Overall, it was an intriguing yet somewhat melodramatic show, with a few shining exceptions. The character of Angelica was of a love-hate for me, giving me very mixed emotions. Sometimes she felt strong and wise, and other times she seemed whiney and naive. Also, the series tried to imply she loved "men of ideas", but more often than not it seemed her "loves" were "lust at first sight" variety and not very deep at all. I was however, a fan of the tragic, scarred, grey colored, and somewhat cruel character of Edward Sexby (John Simm). He made for an interesting anti-hero, a man that you both fear and root for. His character is one you can deeply brood over, impossibly sad, hopeless and yet inspiring. You want him to find redemption and love, but he walks a tragic path indeed. The pair have an unspeakable chemistry and unique bond, making it impossibly difficult to look away when either / both are on screen. Highly effective technique.

The series was really moving and memorable, highlighting historical events and showcasing the darkers sides of human natures, but too often lowered itself into scenes of melodrama and gratuitous titilation, rather than focusing on the characters development and factual historical events, and the few historical events shown seemed lightly brushed over and not given the time desserved. Perhaps this was due to lower budget or time contraints or both? This series would have been so much greater if given more time and episodes. But still overall, a highly enjoyable series of two tragic figures living through a horrible war and torn country, with divided morals and questionable loyalties, that lingers on in the mind.

The English Civil War has often been over looked as a subject for drama, with most films being very inaccurate. The Civil War was a important watershed moment in English history, showing a king can be overthrown, strengthen Parliament, reformed the English army and in the end limits power the power of kings and a tyrant. The Devil's Whore is also a new step for Channel Four, because they don't normally make costume dramas (BBC normally makes them). Channel Four focus has often been documentaries, buying good American programmes, and make comedy series like Peep Show and the Inbetweeners.

The Devil's Whore has a similar approach to Rome, focusing on a fictional character who becomes involved in historical events and meets famous historical people.

The focus of the programme is on Angelica Fanshawe (Andrea Riseborough), an aristocratic woman from a Catholic background. She has rejected God and sees the Devil because her mother ran off to become a nun. The show starts off with Angelica being a member of the Queen's household just before the English Civil War. But as the Civil War starts and Angelica is forced out King Charles I's camp she allies her herself with political radicals like the Levellers. She also falls in love with soldier and political radical Edward Sexby (John Sims). Angelica also gets very close to honest John Lilburne (Tom Goodman-Hill), a popular political radical, and she acts as his champion to Charles I (Peter Capaldi) and Oliver Cromwell (Dominic West).

If you are excepting an action-packed war drama, you will be disappointed because they are few battle scenes. But there is some good sword fights which are more realistic then others in visual media. The strength of the show is the character drama, about Angelica and her struggles. The other main strength is the political background, from Charles I's struggles to Parliament, to Oliver Cromwell becoming no more then a military dictator. The history is actuate for the most part, for example, in English culture some people like to idealise Oliver Cromwell as a great liberator: in real life he took over through a military coup, oppressed dissenting voices and enforced his puritan views on the nation, as well being a butcher to Irish Catholics in Drogheda and Wexford.

They is a excellent cast, having talented actors like John Sim, Dominic West, Michael Fassbender and Peter Capaldi (who I was particularly impressed with). Anglea Riseborough is a strong newcomer, who is able to hold her own with all these talented people. She turns her character from a lost young woman to a powerful voice of dissent. John Sim, Dominic West, Tom Goodman-Hill and Maxine Peake are also very good in their roles. The production values were excellent, and with a budget of £7 Million, it was put to good use. The set designer and historical scenes were created really well, showing that towns, cities and even important building like Parliament were not very grant. They was an earthy feel to show. Marc Munden was a good director, able to combine all the elements together. He gets the best out of his actors and does some good scenes. He makes the violence realistic and characters like Sexby were heavily scared.

This show was not perfect, they were some problems. Some of the subplots did not lead anywhere, the surreal elements did not work for me, especially because of the realistic sitting, and there were historical inaccuracies, such as the omissions of characters like John Pym and Sir Thomas Fairfax. But the programme does show the complex political background with the different schools of thought during the mid-17th century.

It is worthy viewing.