Dark genre cinema, which also depicts a portrait of bygone times, has always been in demand. The biggest hit in this area in recent years was probably Robert Egger’s “The VVitch”, which not only worked as a creeping horror film, but also took a close look at the religious devastation of the first settlers in New England in the 17th century.
With “The Redemption of Fanny Lye”, which will be broadcast unabridged on arte today, June 29 at 11:10 p.m., Thomas Clay is apparently taking a very similar path, even if his historical mystery drama is ultimately not up to the class of Robert Egger’s critics’ favourite. But in this case you also get to deal with a top-class cast: In addition to “Game Of Thrones” star Charles Dance, Maxine Peake is also part of the party, who you can see from “Black Mirror” knows.
If you can’t see today’s TV broadcast, you have the option of switching to online retailers such as Amazon. Not only the DVD is currently on sale there, but also the Blu-ray for a small thaler – uncut, of course!
» “The Redemption of Fanny Lye” on Blu-ray and DVD at Amazon*
The year is 1657: Fanny Lye (Maxine Peake) lives a life of puritanical austerity on a remote farm somewhere in Shropshire with her husband John (Charles Dance) and their son Arthur (Zak Adams). However, when one day the charismatic Thomas (Freddie Fox) and his seductive companion Rebecca (Tanya Reynolds) come into her life, a breath of fresh air comes into the mother’s life.
Because the two, who are being pursued by a ruthless sheriff and his subordinates, give her refuge from her joyless life and show her what exciting and interesting possibilities life has in store for you – if you only see and seize them. A realization that comes at a very high price for Fanny…
The fact that “The Redemption of Fanny Lye” could be a rather special film is not only due to the great cast. The historical mystery drama has an excellent average rating on Rotten Tomatoes with 95% of the reviews being positive! The IMDb rating of 6.2 out of 10 stars is a bit more subdued, but is still in the solid range.
What is also interesting about “The Redemption of Fanny Lye” is the fact that Thomas Clay not only took up the post of director here, but is also responsible for the screenplay and the musical accompaniment. Clay has only turned in his second film here, having been more than 14 years since his first work with Soi Cowboy.
In addition, there is one point that will cause long faces in this country, because in Great Britain an extended cut was released later, which is 20 minutes longer than the theatrical version, which is also shown on free TV today. If you want to see the long version that Thomas Clay prefers, you have to take the UK detour, which is worth it if you want to compare the two versions.
