TVReviews

www.list.co.uk/tv

DRAMA THE DEVIL’S WHORE Channel 4, Wed 19 Nov, 9pm 0000

Having coped admirably with the distasteful task of bringing the early political career of Margaret Thatcher to fruition during The Long Walk to Finch/ey, Andrea Riseborough steps into the shoes of another headstrong historical female. Born into the viciously divided England of the 16205, Angelica Fanshawe was abandoned by her lunatically religious mother, leading the young girl to renounce her faith and be visited upon by images of Satan dancing from trees while unfurling the longest tongue surely ever seen on TV.

Clearly surviving this trauma well, we next see her as a flouncy aristo in the court of Charles I (Peter Capaldi) where she is set to marry her cousin Harry. But trouble is brewing with rebellion and revolution in the air as

REMOTE CONTROL

Brian Donaldson feels. heirs and smells the stench of death in .i i. bunch of new documentaries

When reading the brief synopsis of The Fallen r880“). Sat If) N )v. F}.():'Sprn» .00.. your wor (l‘.’l(}‘.‘-.’ may determine nor-r you approach this documentary: 'a powerful and po:gnant film in which families and trends of those who have died fighting in Algilétl‘lSlElll and Iraq talk openly about thezr Toved ones and their grief] Sl‘ouid y )u pea pupil of the ‘iive by the six/ore. d'e by the sword' school of syri‘riatlr;.. there wiil be no tearing you a\.'.'ay from [he X / actor results spectac‘e. If you happen to be

to 798 since 'he

86 THE LIST lit 97' No. WAR

o"e of the ven, few left -.'.ho still feel that

the :i‘\.asions sparked by the ‘war on

.ie‘ you." gang he serisib"it;es and wish for the figl‘t to continue.

But at its core. the second hal‘ of the programme's description nolds the most unrater. \r‘-."h Le fine t'l"()(‘: hours reflect o" those 99$ soldie's who have died *rom .7001 on that figure has 'isen .lm was comp etedi. this as 'eain a stop. about those :ef'. ‘.'.’ill‘ a fireworks display. l)(Z'-".l.".(l and tne strzcmer‘ pair they earn, each day which 'eads then‘ to behave in very different ‘.'.'ays as they attempt to rebusld their lives without a loved one. As such. it could just as easily be a film about those who have perished on the naton's roads or about parents who

Oliver Cromwell (Dominic West), civil rights campaigner John Lilburne (Tom Goodman-Hill) and soldier for hire Edward Sexby (John Simm) all ease their way into Angelica’s consciousness and stir her own anti-authority sentiments. As with the opening shots of John Adams with its horrific portrayal of a man being tarred and feathered, The Devil’s Whore is not backwards in coming forwards to show the brutal behaviour of its age. But with the compelling squashing of history into its 75 minute-long episodes, it doesn’t take much for the series to fasten its watchable grip. This is in part thanks to the subtle performances and elegant script but most of all for its stark direction by Marc Munden (The Mark of Cain) with the raising of the dead on the battlefield and the haunting Luciferian images truly a sight to behold. (Brian Donaldson)

nutmeg ther (:h:l(:ren: the grief is Itt"{l.l>.(3. the agony unbearable. Most

terror' were \.'.'hoi§\,' justified. then this eye opening ts tne number of those may be a place you'd

.rant to \."s't 3:: wl‘c passed away to" reasons other than the hostile actions of the

laiihan lragi insurgents. Suicide. avoxnnii‘g and road accidents are all in there as the bereaved deal with loss in that own \.'.'a‘y. whether this is by tu'nz'.g t"(}l.' home into a shrine. having a tattoo done of their beloved or

bias: rig t'ie.r son's ashes into the sky

lhere's nothing (ltflltf so dramatic about World War II Behind Closed Doors 'HHCL”, fr; 2] Nov. 9pm,

0.. but this is good old fashioned documentary "taking about 20th centun, conflict. We all know Joseph Stall.“ as that other moustachioed

t u'opean tyrant who slaughtered his l)(}l(2()".'(}(l opponents by the millions. but his ta ents as a seasoned and iiigii‘ipuiative negotiator come to the fore in this series about the rather £t\."./k‘.'.'(l.'(t relationship be enjoyed With llitler, Churchill and l'toosevelt. Most

pleasing of all is the filmmakers' refusal to poison the reconstructions with a Eurofrash voiceover translation from the West Midlands or Croydon, or worse. have the actors burble on in a lobotomised Euro-pudding English. Instead. a subtitle frenzy underpins the various terrors being unleashed on the world often by the flick of a pen on a pact agreement.

Jail Date (Channel/1, Sat 75 Nov.

7pm; 00. features some killers given hope of a life beyond their cell by hooking up With a fragile soul in the free world. The vague tvnst here is that it's men falling for women prisoners as we meet Essex lad Richard waiting for Texan beauty Beckey. who may never be released for her crimes. though she continues to plead innocence. Despite having more tattoos than Cape Fears Max Cady. Richard lives with his mummy and daddy while he attempts to raise the initial three grand which Will nelp fund her latest appeal. When he melts under Beckey's videotaped words of love. you can't be sure whether to pity this daft sod or laugh at his gullibility.

Naivety is perhaps at the heart of the followers of Kurt Cobain still grieVing about their lost hero who shot himself in the head ieavrng behind a Wife. daughter and pals because he couldn't take the pain of fame no more. Maybe ,iust handing in his notice and running for the hills wetild have been a less glorious departure but it would have saved those who liked his records but loathed the deification from haying to listen to all the angst-ridden nonsense about what a tough life this millionaire songi.-vriter had. With Kurt Cobain: About a Son (More/J, The 18 Nov. 70pm; O . we go over the same old ground again my daddy didn't love me. I'm an alien. l have OCD. l had manic depression aged nine. I love drugs me. blah blah etcr except this time it's in his own words as recorded by muSic iourno Michael Azerrad over separate 25 hours of conversation captured mainly between midnight and 4am. Director AJ Schnack opts to couch Cobain's tiresome complaining With images of the Washington state that played a major role in the grunge superstars life. After 100 minutes of this hokum. which takes the Jerk right out of tear-Jerking. yOu too might consider the pointlessness of life.