The series is not a typical whodunit story that seems to flood the TV channels regularly, where the police have crimes and have to work out who is the killer. This production shows us the killer Rosemary/Angel first and we see her as this cold and calculating woman and she just comes across as this horrible person who has kidnapped a child as revenge against the child's father (Michael) and grandmother (wendy). The series then shifts to the characters of Wendy and David who happens to be Rosie's father and minister and they examine all the events leading up to her becoming a killer and what made her mind become twisted and they go back in time and remember what could have contributed to her being the person she is today.
This is very unique because the thriller then becomes a rewind drama. In the second part, we see Rosemary as a teenager in 1991. The audience is shown what life was like for her at this time, she does not get on with her new stepmother, her father is absorbed in his own problems, she is attracted to a man who is a type of bad boy and she doesn't get on with Wendy's son Michael. It all comes to a head when Rosemary see's her boyfriend and stepmother flirting and in a rage she stabs her stepmother to death and Michael witnesses it and tells his family and at the end as Rosemary is being taken away, she vows revenge on all of them.
The third part takes place in 1979 when Rosie is five years old. Wendy has come to stay as her marriage is in trouble and she witnesses all that happens in the house. David in neglectful of his family, Janet, Rosie's mother is pregnant but loses the baby, Janet's father comes to stay and he has dementia. He and Rosie are very close and there is a hint that there might be sexual abuse going on. Janet's father gets worse and says out loud, he wishes he was dead. The next day, he is found murdered in his bed. Janet commits suicide and leaves a note saying it was her who killed her father but we later find out it was Rosie.
At the end, both David and Wendy realise there was warning signs but they chose to ignore them because they were blinded to Rosemary's angelic appearance and the trauma she went through when she was younger. The programme is good because you are left wondering if she had the help sooner, would she have been a different person and the simple answer is you don't know.
The actors were superb, particularly Charles Dance and Clare Holman who have to go from being in their 60's to early 40's and they pull it off convincingly. Emilia Fox is amazing in her role as a serial killer especially in the first episode where her eyes don't seen to show any emotion and she just stares coldly at people, with no visible expression on her face and she comes across as being a very scary person. In the second one, she managed to convincingly act as a teenager and I felt sympathy for her and understood what factors pushed her down the path she took.
I have to make special mention of Tigerlily Hutchinson, who is a brilliant little actor especially at her age and there are some chilling moments, particularly when she is standing by her grandfather's bed, blood all over her and the knife in her hand showing no emotion.
The episodes kept me glued to my seat even though I had a feeling that Rosemary was responsible and it was only when the flashbacks happened that it was confirmed.
The directing, music and writing just adds to the fine quality of the drama and it has made me interested in reading the trilogy of books that the drama was based on. It is one of the best dramas I have ever seen on ITV.
I recommend it to people who want something different from the run of the mill programmes that are on the TV at the moment.
This is very unique because the thriller then becomes a rewind drama. In the second part, we see Rosemary as a teenager in 1991. The audience is shown what life was like for her at this time, she does not get on with her new stepmother, her father is absorbed in his own problems, she is attracted to a man who is a type of bad boy and she doesn't get on with Wendy's son Michael. It all comes to a head when Rosemary see's her boyfriend and stepmother flirting and in a rage she stabs her stepmother to death and Michael witnesses it and tells his family and at the end as Rosemary is being taken away, she vows revenge on all of them.
The third part takes place in 1979 when Rosie is five years old. Wendy has come to stay as her marriage is in trouble and she witnesses all that happens in the house. David in neglectful of his family, Janet, Rosie's mother is pregnant but loses the baby, Janet's father comes to stay and he has dementia. He and Rosie are very close and there is a hint that there might be sexual abuse going on. Janet's father gets worse and says out loud, he wishes he was dead. The next day, he is found murdered in his bed. Janet commits suicide and leaves a note saying it was her who killed her father but we later find out it was Rosie.
At the end, both David and Wendy realise there was warning signs but they chose to ignore them because they were blinded to Rosemary's angelic appearance and the trauma she went through when she was younger. The programme is good because you are left wondering if she had the help sooner, would she have been a different person and the simple answer is you don't know.
The actors were superb, particularly Charles Dance and Clare Holman who have to go from being in their 60's to early 40's and they pull it off convincingly. Emilia Fox is amazing in her role as a serial killer especially in the first episode where her eyes don't seen to show any emotion and she just stares coldly at people, with no visible expression on her face and she comes across as being a very scary person. In the second one, she managed to convincingly act as a teenager and I felt sympathy for her and understood what factors pushed her down the path she took.
I have to make special mention of Tigerlily Hutchinson, who is a brilliant little actor especially at her age and there are some chilling moments, particularly when she is standing by her grandfather's bed, blood all over her and the knife in her hand showing no emotion.
The episodes kept me glued to my seat even though I had a feeling that Rosemary was responsible and it was only when the flashbacks happened that it was confirmed.
The directing, music and writing just adds to the fine quality of the drama and it has made me interested in reading the trilogy of books that the drama was based on. It is one of the best dramas I have ever seen on ITV.
I recommend it to people who want something different from the run of the mill programmes that are on the TV at the moment.