10 Rillington Place Blu-ray Review
“10 Rillington Place” lacks depth.
Based on the nonfiction novel of the same name, “10 Rillington Place” is a 1971 British crime drama about serial killer John Christie penned by Clive Exton. The film begins with a chilling prologue in 1944 with John Christie raping, murdering, and burying a woman before jumping to 1949 in which a family of three (Tim, his wife Beryl, and their baby daughter Geraldine) move into a flat inside of John’s house. The family is dysfunctional and struggling to get by and Beryl is expecting another child. Beryl wants to abort the child and John offers to help claiming he has medical experience. In reality, John murders Beryl and guilts the rather simple Tim (who cannot read or write) into fleeing town without his daughter to make it look like he was responsible for the crime. Will John get away with the crimes? Will Tim’s name be cleared? What happens to Geraldine? All of these questions and more are revealed in the shocking true story.
Richard Fleischer had a long and varied career helming everything from film noir classics like “The Narrow Margin” to Disney’s epic “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.” With “10 Rillington Place,” he tackles a horrifying true story that in many ways feels a little ahead of its time before true crime stories became so prevalent. Unfortunately, it’s not one of his best efforts.
“10 Rillington Place” has a lot going for it. It’s rather claustrophobic, it has a lived in feel, and features two incredible performances (more on that shortly), but it all feels undercooked. There’s a stage play-like vibe to it, but more than that, the writing lets the film down. Not only could it have had a less anti-climactic ending, but it would have been far more effective had the story been more intense and psychological. We really never learn much about John Christie’s motives, how he ended up with a wife, and so forth. It’s all very minimal, dry, and plodding when there is clearly so much more room for exploration. At the same time, the film never feels exploitative (which these types of movies sometimes do) which does benefit the film as a whole.
Going back to the performances, Richard Attenborough (best known for “Jurassic Park”) is positively creepy and disturbing as John Christie. He makes everything from his soft spoken line deliveries to his unhinged murders seem frightfully realistic. John Hurt also turns in a very tragic and human performance as the simpleton Tom whose life is thrown into chaos upon moving into John’s home.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 1.66:1 1080p. How does it look? This is a deeply impressive hi-def transfer that offers up brighter colors and a sharper image quality.
Audio Track: 1.0 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? An all around effective audio track.
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