Plus Intro by Professor Maggie Andrews
On 13 July 1955, the 28-year-old Ruth Ellis became the last woman to be hanged for murder in Britain. There will be a brief introduction before the film by Professor Maggie Andrews exploring how her life and death has been portrayed in film and television in the last seventy years.
This extraordinary tale of murderous revenge focuses on Ruth Ellis (Miranda Richardson), a former prostitute and single mom, who falls for charismatic socialite David Blakely (Rupert Everett) when she meets him in a club.
Although Blakely comes from an aristocratic background, compared with Ellis's hardscrabble upbringing, the two are inextricably drawn to each other and start a torrid affair. When David starts to pull away, Ruth is overwhelmed by jealousy and turns to extreme measures to get him back.
This is a film of astonishing performances and moody, atmospheric visuals - Richardson is a tour de force in what was her first feature film performance.
We present this film on the 70th anniversary of Ruth Ellis’ execution.
