Pretty good at transplanting Thompson's world of creeps and suckers to then contemporary - the mediocre French pop music blaring out of every radio in this film is a cool detail, upping the gaudiness. But ultimately I couldn't get with its affected, histrionic . A failed experiment, but its ambitions are noble.
Four stars may seem like a lot for a 30 minute TV movie with the slightest of storylines, but the commitment to making Serious Art and inserting issues of gender into a christmas entertainment is to be lauded, and besides this hits two of my sweet spots - 70's clothing and British rural horror.
Fair warning: this is one of those movies where the protagonist is brutalized, again and again, often through sexual assault. The film does try to give it a somewhat empowering twist, which is appreciated (with the caveat that, yeah, this IS written by a dude in the early 70's). And of course there are plenty of people - including some great critics - who relate to these kinds of stories, who find they reflect their own traumas, who need this…
