Christie barely even registers as a physical presence. He's small, bespectacled, almost completely bald. He speaks barely above a whisper. But behind those spectacles, there's a penetrating look you might not even notice at first - hell, you probably didn't even look at him when he spoke his mild pleasantries and shook his hand. Nobody, not even his wife, had any idea of his history of criminality, nor his lies, which he spins without a moment's hesitation, no sign whatsoever that he even understands the difference between fact and falsity.
Tim Evans was a foolish young man, either loaded with money from an inheritance from his father, or not - he doesn't seem to care. He's got a young wife and a baby, and hits the roof when she tells him she's expecting another. Running off to drown his sorrows at the pub, Christie, in his self-effacing, matter-of-fact way, lets in on the fact that he has training as a doctor, and may be able to help. There is, however, a one in ten chance she may not survive - but, he explains, fathers always make it.
This is Christie's modus operandi. Posing as a doctor, who can help with abortions, migraines, and anything else, he sets up his rudimentary equipment - rubber hoses running gas through a jar of bubbling white liquid - and suffocates his victims. These scenes, while not that violent, are extremely confronting and horrible.
There is little attempt at first to make Timothy Evans a likeable character, but it doesn't take long for us to realise that he is just another of Christie's victims. And a victim of his own careless nature, and selfishness. But he is at an utter loss to explain why Christie would have murdered anyone. And so are we.
He is, as it happens, a necrophile, kissing and fondling the bodies of his victims. But can that even come close to explaining his crimes? The truth is, that we may never understand why people like Christie do what they do. "10 Rillington Place"'s refusal to provide a phony justification is just another reason to recommend it, along with the typically flawless performances from Attenborough and John Hurt. But be warned - emotionally, this is strong stuff. Not one for the gorehounds, but bleak, and unflinching.
Tim Evans was a foolish young man, either loaded with money from an inheritance from his father, or not - he doesn't seem to care. He's got a young wife and a baby, and hits the roof when she tells him she's expecting another. Running off to drown his sorrows at the pub, Christie, in his self-effacing, matter-of-fact way, lets in on the fact that he has training as a doctor, and may be able to help. There is, however, a one in ten chance she may not survive - but, he explains, fathers always make it.
This is Christie's modus operandi. Posing as a doctor, who can help with abortions, migraines, and anything else, he sets up his rudimentary equipment - rubber hoses running gas through a jar of bubbling white liquid - and suffocates his victims. These scenes, while not that violent, are extremely confronting and horrible.
There is little attempt at first to make Timothy Evans a likeable character, but it doesn't take long for us to realise that he is just another of Christie's victims. And a victim of his own careless nature, and selfishness. But he is at an utter loss to explain why Christie would have murdered anyone. And so are we.
He is, as it happens, a necrophile, kissing and fondling the bodies of his victims. But can that even come close to explaining his crimes? The truth is, that we may never understand why people like Christie do what they do. "10 Rillington Place"'s refusal to provide a phony justification is just another reason to recommend it, along with the typically flawless performances from Attenborough and John Hurt. But be warned - emotionally, this is strong stuff. Not one for the gorehounds, but bleak, and unflinching.