Dance with a Stranger – 1984 | 102 mins | Drama | Colour

Plot Synopsis

Director Mike Newell’s noir-ish Dance With A Stranger is a carefully observed insight into a tragic crime of passion that changed the conscience of a post-war nation. Remaining close to the facts, Shelagh Delaney’s screenplay only takes a few liberties for the sake of dramatic license. It’s the true story of one woman and two lovers – each driven by the all-powerful forces of sexuality, jealousy and obsession. Miranda Richardson produces an exceptional performance as the cold and calculating Ellis, and Ian Holm is equally outstanding in his often-overlooked performance as her long-suffering admirer.

Ex-prostitute Ruth Ellis (Miranda Richardson), a mother and glamorous Soho nightclub hostess, meets and falls in love with aristocratic racing driver David Blakely (Rupert Everett); envisaging him a glamorous escape-route to a better life. Together they embark on a tempestuous and obsessive affair, when Blakely eventually discards her in favouring of marrying a woman from his own social class; Ellis shoots her fickle lover rather than let him abandon her. Ellis’ feelings for Blakely are mirrored by the loyal Desmond Cussen’s (Ian Holm) muted fixation for the single mother, becoming a surrogate father to her pre-teen son Andy (Matthew Carroll). The tragic consequences culminate in her speedily becoming the last woman to be hanged in Britain on the 13th of July 1955. Her controversial execution led to a tidal wave of public emotion and the abolition of capital punishment.