While I did not plan it, this film is an interesting companion piece to "Compulsion", which I watched only yesterday. Both films are based on real life murder cases in which teenagers received harsh sentences and which are extremely controversial, albeit for very different reasons. In "Compulsion", the characters Artie Strauss and Judd Steiner, renamed versions of Leopold and Loeb, actually committed the murder of which they were accused and convicted and rightly received life sentences, narrowly avoiding the hangman's noose. In this instance, Derek Bentley was completely innocent of the murder of PC Sidney Miles, which was committed by his accomplice Christopher Craig while Bentley was nominally in police custody, but was hanged for it. It is considered one of the most egregious miscarriages of justice in British history. Furthermore, Leopold and Loeb were both of above average intelligence and wealthy while Bentley was of below average intelligence and his family were far from wealthy. A major problem was that the trial took place only a month after the murder and Bentley was executed only six weeks after that. Bentley's conviction and sentencing turns on his use of the phrase "Let him have it, Chris." The prosecution claimed that he meant "Shoot him, Chris" whereas he actually meant "Give him the gun, Chris," something which was reflected by the fact that he made no effort to attack the policemen or escape from their custody.
Christopher Eccleston is excellent in the lead role of Derek Bentley. He is depicted as a good and decent young man whose troubles with the law are due to his being often taken advantage of and manipulated by other people because of his mental development issues. At the time of his death, Bentley was 19 years old but had a mental age of only 11. Because of this, he lacked the common sense of other people his age and was too trusting. His mental age also meant that he should probably not have tried in the first place, let alone convicted. Bentley is an incredibly sympathetic character who becomes more so as the film progresses. This was certainly helped by the sterling efforts of Eccleston, who was perfect for the role. The film would not have worked nearly as well if a less talented actor or one less suited to the role had been cast as Bentley.
Besides Bentley himself, the most important character in the film is of course Christopher Craig, played very well by Paul Reynolds who excels as unscrupulous, shady characters in everything from serious dramas like this to a children's comedy-drama like "Press Gang". At only sixteen, Craig was already an accomplished criminal by the time of the murder. His age meant that he did not receive the death penalty, being instead detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure. He was released after only ten years in 1963. He is still alive and has had no problems with the law since then.
The film has a very strong supporting cast, particularly Tom Courtenay and Eileen Atkins as Bentley's very loving and supportive parents William and Lilian, Clare Holman as his elder sister Iris (who served as a special consultant to the film), Michael Gough as the Lord Chief Justice Lord Goddard (who sentenced Bentley to death and was famous for imposing harsh sentences) and James Villiers as his defence barrister Cassels. The last two characters have relatively little screen time but nevertheless play a pivotal role. It also features Mark McGann (whose brother Paul McGann was Eccleston's "Doctor Who" predecessor), Iain Cuthbertson, Clive Revill, Edward Hardwicke, Murray Melvin, Serena Scott Thomas and Reynolds' erstwhile "Press Gang" co-star Charlie Creed-Miles in nice, small roles.
The film benefits from a very strong script written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, best known for having written all of the Bond films since "The World is Not Enough" (in which Serena Scott Thomas also appeared). As far as I can tell, it deviates very, very little from established fact. The script nicely contrasts the decency of the Bentleys with the criminal lifestyle of the Craigs and their accomplices. It is a searing indictment of a legal system which completely failed in this instance. Both the writing and the direction of Peter Medak do a great job of portraying the more unpleasant aspects of British society in the 1950s. The locations used are quite grimy and are shot mostly in darkness, which is reminiscent of the gangster films that the Craigs' gang seek to emulate.
In 1998, after more than four decades of campaigning, Bentley received a posthumous pardon for the murder. Sadly, his sister Iris, who dedicated her life to having his name cleared, did not live to see it as she died of cancer the previous year. Their parents died in the 1970s. Derek Bentley would be 81 years old if he were still alive today, which he should be. The system let him, his family, the British people and justice itself down terribly.
Christopher Eccleston is excellent in the lead role of Derek Bentley. He is depicted as a good and decent young man whose troubles with the law are due to his being often taken advantage of and manipulated by other people because of his mental development issues. At the time of his death, Bentley was 19 years old but had a mental age of only 11. Because of this, he lacked the common sense of other people his age and was too trusting. His mental age also meant that he should probably not have tried in the first place, let alone convicted. Bentley is an incredibly sympathetic character who becomes more so as the film progresses. This was certainly helped by the sterling efforts of Eccleston, who was perfect for the role. The film would not have worked nearly as well if a less talented actor or one less suited to the role had been cast as Bentley.
Besides Bentley himself, the most important character in the film is of course Christopher Craig, played very well by Paul Reynolds who excels as unscrupulous, shady characters in everything from serious dramas like this to a children's comedy-drama like "Press Gang". At only sixteen, Craig was already an accomplished criminal by the time of the murder. His age meant that he did not receive the death penalty, being instead detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure. He was released after only ten years in 1963. He is still alive and has had no problems with the law since then.
The film has a very strong supporting cast, particularly Tom Courtenay and Eileen Atkins as Bentley's very loving and supportive parents William and Lilian, Clare Holman as his elder sister Iris (who served as a special consultant to the film), Michael Gough as the Lord Chief Justice Lord Goddard (who sentenced Bentley to death and was famous for imposing harsh sentences) and James Villiers as his defence barrister Cassels. The last two characters have relatively little screen time but nevertheless play a pivotal role. It also features Mark McGann (whose brother Paul McGann was Eccleston's "Doctor Who" predecessor), Iain Cuthbertson, Clive Revill, Edward Hardwicke, Murray Melvin, Serena Scott Thomas and Reynolds' erstwhile "Press Gang" co-star Charlie Creed-Miles in nice, small roles.
The film benefits from a very strong script written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, best known for having written all of the Bond films since "The World is Not Enough" (in which Serena Scott Thomas also appeared). As far as I can tell, it deviates very, very little from established fact. The script nicely contrasts the decency of the Bentleys with the criminal lifestyle of the Craigs and their accomplices. It is a searing indictment of a legal system which completely failed in this instance. Both the writing and the direction of Peter Medak do a great job of portraying the more unpleasant aspects of British society in the 1950s. The locations used are quite grimy and are shot mostly in darkness, which is reminiscent of the gangster films that the Craigs' gang seek to emulate.
In 1998, after more than four decades of campaigning, Bentley received a posthumous pardon for the murder. Sadly, his sister Iris, who dedicated her life to having his name cleared, did not live to see it as she died of cancer the previous year. Their parents died in the 1970s. Derek Bentley would be 81 years old if he were still alive today, which he should be. The system let him, his family, the British people and justice itself down terribly.