‘A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story’ review: a tragically moving portrait of an era-defining woman
It can be hard to review films and shows based on a real person’s life. How accurate is the portrayal? What vital context are we, as the audience, missing? Somehow, it becomes even more difficult when the person had a widespread impact on history and society at large, as is the case with ITV’s and BritBox’s latest focus, Ruth Ellis.
Those of you outside of the U.K. may have never heard of Ellis—I’ll admit I hadn’t either, as my family is Dutch and I only moved to the U.K. eight years ago—but she is an undeniably important figure in British history. In 1955, 28-year-old Ruth Ellis was the last woman to be hanged in the U.K. after she was convicted of murdering her lover, playboy racing driver David Blakely. It was a major case, not only because she shot him point-blank in front of a busy London pub, but because she became a figurehead for women everywhere. She was punished by the British establishment for more than Blakely’s death—she was punished because she represented everything women weren’t allowed to become.
As I can’t objectively or knowledgeably comment on the history of Ellis’ case, specifically, I want to approach this review based on the story laid out in ITV’s four-part mini-series. The show has clearly researched historical records meticulously, however, utilizing Carol Ann Lee’s definitive biography A Fine Day for a Hanging: The Real Ruth Ellis Story and the transcripts from Ellis’ court case to weave its dramatized narrative.
A woman who deserved more
Lucy Boynton (Bohemian Rhapsody, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?) gorgeously and sympathetically plays Ruth Ellis, an ambitious career woman who hid her true accent but not her desire. As Ruth admits moments before her hanging, she wanted everything; power, love, money, fame, sex, and friendship. Recently divorced with two kids, Ruth has just been promoted to become the youngest nightclub manager in London, a feat that turns the heads of two equally dangerous men, though in vastly different ways: Desmond Cussen (Mark Stanley) and David Blakely (Laurie Davidson). While she sort of keeps her distance from Cussen—despite his insistence that he loves her—she embarks on a torrid romantic affair with Blakely, an affair that would prove to be her undoing.
Blakely was an abuser; he hit her and then apologized profusely, until it happened the next time, and the next, and the next. Boynton’s chemistry with Laurie Davidson helps the viewer understand why she was so in love with him. He was handsome, sure, and charming, but for better or worse, she felt connected to him, determined to keep him in her life. Desmond, meanwhile, wanted Ruth for himself and despised Blakely. Not just because he knew that he hit her, though, but because he was a coward, a man with a wounded ego. Stanley nails the cowardly aspect of the character to a T.
A Cruel Love alleges that Ruth killing David wasn’t just the act of a woman scorned. It wasn’t even what she truly wanted; it was orchestrated by Desmond, who got away scot-free while Ruth paid the ultimate price. The show does a great job of slowly turning Desmond from a white knight into a villain. From the beginning, it was clear that David Blakely was bad news. Desmond Cussen was more cunning, though, a true snake protected by the very system that wanted to tear Ruth down.
Ruth’s story is one of abuse, yes, a story that tries to shed light on why it’s so hard for women to leave abusive relationships, but it’s also more. She wasn’t just abused by the men in her life; she was also abused by the British judicial system, Britain’s class system, and society’s rampant misogyny. Here was a woman who wanted to work for a living, who used her looks and her charm to get her way. This was something the British establishment couldn’t abide in a post-World War II society. While women scrambled to retain some of the independence they’d gained during the war, the men wanted everything to go back to the status quo. Making an example of Ruth was an easy choice for them. According to the Men, she was obviously suffering from “hysteria.”
Her trial lasted two days and she was hanged a mere 22 days later. There was hardly any time to fight for her right to live. A disgusting miscarriage of justice, if there ever was one. As Arthur Darvill’s solicitor explains at one point, divorce proceedings in the ’50s usually lasted six months. How could the truth of Ruth’s circumstances be truthfully unraveled in a fraction of that time?
The four hour-long episodes move swiftly between Ruth’s “before” and “after,” providing viewers with a well-rounded account of her life with Blakely and who she was as a person without him. Perhaps the short series is meant to reflect the swiftness of Ruth’s ending, but I must admit I would have appreciated a little more of a glimpse into society’s response to Ruth’s hanging. Her trial and subsequent death had a domino effect; in some ways, she became a feminist icon. Some scenes allude to the public’s outrage—a crowd chanting for her release outside the prison, a reporter trying to uncover the truth with the help of Ruth’s friend—but more time spent outside the prison in the “after” would have added to the power of Ruth’s lasting legacy.
There is one scene toward the end of the show that moved me perhaps more than any other. Ruth admits that her despicably short stint in a women’s prison, waiting for death, was perhaps the most peaceful time in her entire life. No other moment more powerfully describes the pain that Ruth endured during her life at the hands of the opposite sex. She undoubtedly deserved better, and thankfully, A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story isn’t afraid to shout it from the rooftops.
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story premieres on BritBox in North America on February 17, with new episodes dropping weekly until March 3.
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