The Delivered

A magnificent tale of a downtrodden wife and mother who is beat down by her bully, self-important husband who regularly beats both her and their little son for no reason other than he hates. He hates her, women, children who love their mother, the world, and himself. He is truly a child of his time; that time is 1657, during the cycle of English Civil Wars. One day as they arrive home to their farm from church (her husband riding the horse while she and the child walk) they find they have been invaded. A young couple has run to their secluded farm to hide out. What will the uber judgmental man of the farm do with them? This movie is not only authentic and beautifully made but it had my jaw dropping a couple of times. The cast is superb, especially that Peter McDonald as the High Sheriff for the Council of State. There isn't a sour note in the whole work.

I was ready to turn this movie off. It's a period piece. Cromwell's in charge, the King was executed and a brutal war recently ended. I was bored. I would have rated it a 5, but the solid acting brought it up to 6.

About two thirds of the way through, there is a plot twist or two which were quite unexpected and gave the movie a bonus star. Try to stay until the credits run, as there is an epilogue which makes me now question if the movie was based on a real person.

... have a tough time establishing a base to grow as they are mistaken for heretics in 17th century England by Monty Python's Spanish Inquisition disguised as puritanical nutters - undeliver'd!

If you live in a family that is quite strict, strangers coming from outside may feel like a welcome (pun intended) distraction. On the other hand, the father (wonderfully played here) may have the best interest in mind and heart, but his harsh and way too restricted views are not helping his wife or "kid".

The outlaws from outside really bring imbalance. Depending on your moral views, your sympathy may sway from one scene to the other. It is ok to feel, you are being given a tough choice. Morally speaking this isn't too easy - but that is what the movie gives you. Something to think about - something to chew on. And questions about what is good and what is bad, that go beyond religion and obvious answers.

Not sure why my previous comment got deleted, but while I had not saved it yet, I will park this somewhere just in case, someone feels the need to be mean - which would bring us to the characters: who is eventually the mean one? Who do you side with? Have you decided yet?

Horrible Histories meets Hammer Horror meets Blackadder.... The basic story could have been quite good but the film is so unrealistic as to be more of a pantomime than a drama. Low budget has not allowed for getting anything dirty so all the clothes, house etc are like brand new, nothing grubby as it would obviously have been and everyone looks like they are fresh out of the shower.

The acting is surprisingly ham and the baddies are more like a comedy duo despite being evil.

All in all, a missed opportunity as could have been good with the right budget and the chance to create a realistic dark representation.