Themes: Class Differences, Out For Revenge, Dangerous Attraction
Main Cast: Miranda Richardson, Rupert Everett, Ian Holm, Matthew Carroll, Tom Chadbon
Release Year: 1985
Country: UK
Run Time: 120 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
This darkly haunting slightly fictionalized film is a retelling of the life and death of Ruth Ellis (Miranda Richardson), the last woman to be executed in England. Ellis, a divorcee and ex-prostitute works as a "hostess" in a tacky nightclub. There she meets and begins an obsessive love affair with upper-class David Blakely (Rupert Everett), who eventually discards her. Still obsessed and jealous because of David's upcoming marriage to a woman of his own class, Ellis murders him. Miranda Richardson, in a stark, knock-out performance is outstanding as the cold, calculating Ellis, unscrupulous in her use of everyone to get what she wants. Ian Holm, in an often-overlooked performance, is superb as the man who loves Ellis, supporting her and her teenage son, without ever gaining her love. He is her mainstay and the surrogate father to her teenage son, who Ellis has little time for. In his own, quiet way he is as obsessed as Ellis. The screenplay, adapted by Shelagh Delaney remains faithful to the true story, taking only minor dramatic license. Dance With a Stranger is an uncompromising look at obsessive love and its consequences on others. The story is made even more poignant because of the sad life and eventual suicide of Ellis' real son. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
Review
A precisely cut social commentary, Dance with a Stranger captures the twin woes of austerity and repression that characterized 1950s Britain. Director Mike Newell keeps polemics to a minimum, treating his subject as a carefully observed study of class tension and sexual obsession. He dissects the Ellis-Blakely affair in the measured, diligent manner that one might employ to reconstruct a catastrophic train wreck; since the outcome is a foregone conclusion, Newell finds drama in the forces leading to that conclusion. The film works best as a grim character study, in which character is seen (by society) as an outgrowth of class. As Ruth Ellis, Miranda Richardson exemplifies what happens when one becomes a prisoner of both character and class; coming across as an icy Marilyn Monroe knock-off, Ellis is ruled by the misfortune of loving a man outside both her class and the possibility of human affection. She is ably supported by Rupert Everett, petulant and pretty as her spoiled brat lover, and Ian Holm as Desmond Cussen, whose own quiet obsession with Ellis forcefully complements her obsession with Blakely. Both obsessions are fraught with irrational desperation, but Cussen's ends with a whimper, while Ellis' ends with a fatal bang. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
Jane Bertish - Carole Findlater; David Troughton - Cliff Davis; Paul Mooney - Clive Gunnell; Stratford Johns - Morrie Conley; Charles Cork - Policeman; Patrick Field - Builder; Lesley Manville - Maryanne; Martin Murphy - Roy; Colin Rix - Landlord "Madgala"; Joanne Whalley - Christine; David Beale - Man in Little Club; Charon Bourke - Ballroom Singer; Sallie-Anne Field - Claudette; Ian Hurley - Policeman; Miki Iveria - Landlady; Michael Jen - Wilf; Susan Kyd - Barbara; Tony Mathews - Customer "Madgala"; Nicholas McArdle - Landlord; Lizzie McKenzie - Woman in Launderette; Elizabeth Newell - Baby; Alan Thompson; Tracy-Louise Ward - Girl with David Blakely
Credit
Adrian Smith - Art Director, Pip Newbery - Costume Designer, Mike Newell - Director, Mick Audsley - Editor, Richard Hartley - Composer (Music Score), Pat Hay - Makeup, Andrew Mollo - Production Designer, Peter Hannan - Cinematographer, Paul Cowan - Producer, Roger Randall-Cutler - Producer, Alison Stewart-Richardson - Set Designer, Shelagh Delaney - Screenwriter
Dance with a Stranger is a 1985 Britishdrama film, directed by Mike Newell. Telling the story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain in the fifties, this moving biographical British film won critical acclaim, and brought particular notice to the careers of both Miranda Richardson and Rupert Everett. The title is based on a song that was popular at the time the film is set, and was featured in the film.
