Dance with a Stranger

1985 "It wasn't simply love. It was a case of cold-blooded passion."
6.6| 1h42m| R| en| More Info
Released: 09 August 1985 Released
Producted By: Goldcrest
Country: United Kingdom
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

Ruth Ellis lives with her ten-year old son Andy next to a night club. One night she meets David Blakely, and they start a love affair. However, for David with his upper-class background, it is impossible to uphold the relationship. He breaks up with her, something which makes Ellis, obsessed by him, very upset.

Genre

Drama, Crime

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Director

Mike Newell

Production Companies

Goldcrest

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Dance with a Stranger Audience Reviews

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!
Borserie it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.
Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
paul2001sw-1 A grim slice of 1950s Britain is expertly recreated in Mike Newell's film 'Dance with a Stranger'. Miranda Richardson gives an expertly judged performance as Ruth Ellis, an ageing nightclub hostess whose desire to keep a little glamour in her life, coupled with a powerful mutual sexual attraction, led her into a relationship with a man who, while not exactly evil, was utterly self-absorbed and prone to intermittent violence. The story ends in murder, and Ellis is now famous as the last woman to be executed in Great Britain. Obviously, the film is sympathetic to her, and while her victim scarcely deserves death, the tale is compelling; and it makes one wonder how many of those killed by the state may have done a terrible thing, but may also have had a tale of their own. Some will argue that in cases such as these, there is no alternative in judgement but to assign absolute individual responsibility; personally, I think it's a more civilised country that retains the capacity to forgive.
angie-235 The only fact I knew the first time I watched this is that Ruth Ellis was the last woman to hang in Britain. I think it is impossible to judge without knowing more facts about the two main character's lives. So I will have to judge the film as if they were fictional characters. At the start you get the impression that David is very immature , despite being "cocky" he is desperate for love. Ruth seems to be a very hard and grasping woman , very confused and maybe a little ashamed of her profession. Although Rupert Everett is perfect for a man any woman with eyes would fall for he is maybe a little too young looking . He plays a cad but not with enough conviction for me to not feel pity for him all through the film. The same applies to Ruth so ashamed of her class she can't even enter David's parent's home. She appears to love her son and want better for him which is touching. The character I have most trouble with is Desmond, is he a masochist ? Although I can understand Ruth's insane jealousy I can't forgive her final act. I was quite stunned by the lack of human empathy as she walks over and empties her gun. Had I been on a jury I would have had to ask for exemption as I would have felt I needed to be an expert in mental illness. She might have been a psycopath , she certainly appears to be one . I never the less could not have made any decision that would have resulted in her hanging as it helps no-one. This review is much harder than I thought it would be , it is an excellent film but I need to know more.
Richard Kelly Understandably, most of the attention went to Miranda Richardson's virtuoso performance as Ruth when this film first appeared, and time has done nothing to dim what must be one of the truly great female performances. Richardson's brilliance is in never taking a quick shortcut to sympathy for Ellis: she makes her selfish, vulgar and cruel, as well as vulnerable, haunted and uncertain. It's a stunning performance. It's worth noting though, that both Ian Holm and Rupert Everett are also excellent as the two men between whom Ruth vacillates. The design is inch-perfect: no love letter to the past, but a visceral recreation of a glamorous world with an unpleasant "backstage" and the script is magnificent: suggesting that Ruth's real crime is not murder, but not knowing - and sticking to - her place in 1950s British society. A cracking film.
Andy (film-critic) I have seen some bad films in my lifetime, but this film literally takes the cake. Right after watching this film I went over to my wife and asked her if she knew what the film I just watched was all about. She told me that she didn't see it, and I proceeded with a "Well, you probably know more than I." What a horrible film!! I had no idea what was happening for any of this film. What was the relationship between Holm and Richardson all about? I thought that he was the father of her child, but then he isn't, but then maybe he is ... WE NEED SOME SORT OF CONSISTENCY HERE PEOPLE!!! I understand that this film has some respect to it because it was directed by Mike Newell (of Four Weddings and a Funeral fame), but this film really didn't make any sense to me. Now I watch movies very closely because I don't want to miss anything elaborate, but even if I watched this film for a second time I still think that I wouldn't catch half of it. This was Richardson's worst role ever. She screamed most of her lines urging me to almost want to use the subtitles. Everett tries too hard to be the clichéd "uncatchable" male figure in this film, but I just didn't see him as the part. Holm, well, if I knew what Holm's role in this film was I would be a better person. It was almost as if he stumbled onto the set by accident and just started acting in some scenes with Richardson and Newell didn't want to take it out. Nothing was coherent in this film. The acting was horrible, the story was boring, and there was no string tying this film together. Instead what you got was a 1000 piece puzzle where the pieces were all from other puzzles. Nothing seemed to match up. I understand that sometimes it is good to put into film some major events in our world's history, but I am not sure that the last few months of Ruth Ellis (the last woman hung in England) life was exactly what I needed to get through my life. This film was so bad that whenever my cat walked by the television his eyes would water and he would have to claw at his ears to make the vision and sound try to disappear. I have never ... I mean never experienced a film like this. I am going to end this review now because it is giving me a headache just thinking about it. This film should definitely have a Mr. Yuck sticker on it prior to renting. Also, if you get a petition in the mail shortly, it is going to be from me asking to eliminate weapons of mass destruction and replace them with Dance with a Stranger. It would cause the same amount of damage ... PEEE-EW!! In the words of Jay Sherman ... the God, the man, the myth ... "IT STINKS". Grade: * out of *****