Ruth Ellis ironically gained a sort of immortality in British criminal history right at the moment of her death as she was the last woman to be executed, unless the death penalty is ever reinstated, which I personally hope it isn't. Her sorry story has been told before on the small and big screen but here we are again, almost exactly 70 years on, for this 4-part ITV series starring Lucy Boynton in the title role.
It starts explosively as we witness Ellis cold-bloodedly murder her lover David Blakely by shooting him on a public street in front of witnesses. To that extent it's an open-and-shut case but as we're inevitably flashed back to how we've got to this point, the question of diminished responsibility through provocation emerges, which, if accepted by a jury, might reduce her sentence and so spare her life. This aspect of the narrative is what connects it to the present day, that of course, and the afore mentioned argument against capital punishment. However, as history tells us, neither the diminished responsibility defence or the abolition of the rope were passed into law until years later, although the point is made that this case.may well have assisted in hastening both law changes.
This was a high-end production, featuring an excellent central performance by Boynton torn between her two heartless lovers played by Laurie Davidson and Mark Stanley. The strong casting continues with other familiar faces such as the ubiquitous, super-reliable Toby Jones as Ellis's unyielding first defence solicitor, Arthur Darvill as her last-chance counsel and, as the sympathetic prison governor, Juliet Stevenson. Yes, that final piece of casting tells you diversity supercedes authenticity which you see reflected in other places too, but nevertheless, cleverly, atmospherically and at the end, sympathetically directed, this was a compelling and impactful mini-series well worth watching.
