Ensofter
Overrated and overhyped
Stevecorp
Don't listen to the negative reviews
kirkdzsimi
This is the story of a young female so obsessed with perfection and vengeance that she sees killing as a logical way to order her day to day and spiritual life. Starting in the modern day Rosie/Angel (Emilia Fox) seems a cold and intense young woman who stalks and murders with a cool efficiency to honour her hero, Francis Youlgrave a disgraced former priest. Devoted to a pseudo-Catholic cult of her own making based on Youlgrave's poetry where she learns the cleric believed himself to be an angel and drifted along into the world of blood sacrifice in order to complete the Eucharist.What pleased me most was that the TV trilogy is extremely faithful to the excellent Roth Trilogy books by Andrew Taylor, which like this were also in reverse chronological order. We learn in the first five minutes that Rosie mutilates children. However, this is not the mystery. The mystery is why she does it: what awful things could have happened to her to make this young, intelligent and beautiful woman act this way.We are taken on a journey into the three most important parts of her past: Rosie in her 30's in busy London; Rosie as a seemingly happy-go- lucky teenager in the idyllic village of Roth, applying for a place at Cambridge and Rosie as a five year old with a terrible secret.Fallen Angel is superbly put together as is the cast: Charles Dance as the stern, sinisterly cerebral vicar David, Emilia Fox as his daughter 18 year old Rosie and 30 something Angel who has taken her father's characteristics and changed them just slightly and become a monster, Mark Benton as Angel's dim-witted flatmate and Clare Holman the keeper of the family secret who tries to keep sanity and order throughout the three decades of the piece. Sheila Hancock and Peter Capaldi make creditable appearances too.The plot gives many suggestions as to what makes a murderer: an obsession with Christ's body and blood, parental careerism, lust, personality disorders or simply living with secrets. Make your own decisionOne thing is for certain Rosie is far from being a two dimensional villain and this drama left me unable to think about anything else after it had finished. Remarkable. This could not have been better.
Gary-161
Watched "the making of" documentary with an interview with the original author talking cobblers. No, it is not common for serial killers to have partners. It is rare. Most are loners. The author made his killer a woman because of an anecdote by a worker in a psychiatric ward who claimed they were most afraid of the female inmates. Not a good enough reason to make his character a serial killer, which is very rare on the distaff side, let alone in the middle to upper classes. Add to that some banal observations on the moral deception of beauty and hey Presto.This is in fact the usual middle class wankery, enjoying the frisson of playing with "dark" subject matter. Once again, the murder of children is nauseatingly paraded. Aren't we all sick of this? In one stupid scene we are expected to believe a five year old could commit a violent murder with a knife like the beginning of "Halloween". I hope it was computer faked because it would be pretty reprehensible to stage the whole thing with a kid for real.The silliest moment is the sex scene between a wrinkled old priest and a gorgeous young girl with pneumatic breasts. Typical writers fantasy that. In the real world he'd be lucky to get it on with a bag lady in his congregation, if that.On the plus side, I have a thing for Emilia Fox. Just as well, as she's in bloody everything.
suemartin23264
I've never seen anything like this. The plot is muddled, pure acting talent is thrown to waste, and a lot of characters just don't fit in with the story. The first episode is enough to put you off the rest of this terrible mini series.It starts off in 1979, with a young girl finding her grandfather dead on the floor. Then it skips to the present day, with a stupid scene showing an old woman storming into a church and insulting the vicar. That in itself is one horrible section, and it never gets better.The second and third episodes are arguably better than the first, but, to be honest, none of it is any good.Don't waste your time. Give this one a miss.
AngryKid108
In my view's, this is one of the best itv drama's for some time now. Emilia Fox plays such a wonderful, disturbed and black hearted killer in Fallen Angel. With Fallen Angel, it takes you back in time from when she gets caught kidnapping the little girl, to when she is a teenager and what drives her to this madness and when she in a five year old girl. There are some outstanding performances by Charles Dance who plays Rosmarie's (Emilia Fox) dad and Clare holman as Wendy who is Lucy's grandmother. If you had missed the drama, it will be available to by on the 19th of March on DVD. I strongly advise you that if you like drama's, you'll love this. View the trailer at http://www.fallenangel.itv.com.
