Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18453 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-09-17
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 98 minutes

Synopsis
The moving true story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in Great Britain. The last man executed in that country was later found to be innocent, a regrettable (to say the least) incident which led to the abandonment of the practice.

Customer Reviews

Good film based on a true story.

'Dance With A Stranger' is based on the true story of the last woman to be hanged in Britain. Mirander Richardson plays Ruth Ellis in this 'fairly' accurate story of the real-life drama.

Whilst not a huge fan of true stories being brought to the silver screen, this is interesting - if only for putting across very well how this woman should not have been executed. Whatever her morals and personality (whether you like or dislike her) it is blatantly clear that the only way to be rid of this troublesome young man (David Blakeley) was to kill him (from her perspective that is) If what we see we are to believe, this woman was 'plagued' by her one-time lover long after she'd tired of the affair and had told him as best she could (Blakeley being played by a young and handsome Rupert Everett) and therefore these should have been 'mitigating' circumstances to say the least. Of course it should not be forgotten that she did in fact take a life, and so there are arguments for both sides...

As with 'Ten Rillington Place'; this also will ignite passionate feelings - either for or against Capital Punishment. I hope the latter woud still prevail.

Ian Holm also stars.

Dance with death
This Film 4 production has been shown on the television a fair few times but I thought I'd watch it on DVD to get a different perspective. The story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman in Britain to be executed is powerfully played by the talented Miranda Richardson and the playboy racing driver David Blakeney is nicely portrayed by Rupert Everett. The production really evokes the post-war years and the early 50s and the foggy sets add to the period detail.

Personally I found it hard to understand why Ruth put up with David for so long but it was clear that the relationship was one of those passonate distructive ones. Her faithful suitor, played by Ian Holm adds good support and it's a shame that she didn't settle for him as he would have been able to give Ruth the secure home life she so desparately needed, should she have decided to choose her head over her heart.

There are a couple of cameos from the likes of Joanne Whalley and Lesley Manville which are worth looking out for if you're a fan of Film 4 productions.

Faithful presentation of the story that leaves questions unanswered
Ruth comes across as a somewhat spoilt young girl, and the film fails to explain why she was driven to murder. We see infidelity on both sides, and both parties enter into relationships on a very casual basis, so it is hard to see why Ruth felt so wronged against by David Blakeley's cheating on her. I would have preferred to have seen more of the motor racing; the film seems to spend too much time in bars and clubs. Did David see what was coming? Could he have seen what was coming? The film didn't tell me this. I also didn't find the incisive portrayal of the class system which other reviews had led me to expect. The film evokes the 1950's well, with great attention to detail, but perhaps it needs to be seen on the large screen to fully appreciate it.