Post by stephen on Jul 2, 2020 17:25:13 GMT
A gloriously sumptuous bit of throwback cinema, Fanny Lye Deliver’d feels like a lost ‘60s Hammer film finally unearthed. Soaked through with Puritanical austerity, Thomas Clay’s film depicts a 17th-century Shropshire family whose hyper-religious lifestyle is interrupted by a pair of licentious ne’er-do-wells, whose very presence shatters their dour self-imposed misery.
Set during the era of Cromwell’s reign, Fanny Lye Deliver’d is very much a slow-burn portrait of strict zealotry crumbling against free-spiritedness. The Lye family is ruled by its iron-fisted, iron-hearted patriarch, the Ahab-esque Captain John (played with searing, domineering power by Charles “Tywin Lannister” Dance), who sees anything but devoted adherence to the Good Book as a grievous sin to be routed out immediately—and that includes any amusement or fun. His wife, the titular Fanny, silently labors under her husband’s influence. Played by Maxine Peake, Mrs. Lye is a shrinking violet indeed . . . but there is also a defiant glint in her eyes, which she cannot hide forever.
When the family’s bucolic lifestyle is intruded upon by a pair of strangers (Freddie Fox and Tanya Reynolds) who claim to have been waylaid by highwaymen, we can see exactly how they are going to bridle against Captain John’s harsh ruleset. And yet, the film itself is full of surprises, playing with various influences ranging from Witchfinder General and The Witch to A Field in England and even, of all things, Funny Games.
There’s an awful lot to unpack in Fanny Lye Deliver’d, and to call it a faultless film would be a bit much (I do think the film’s ultimate villain needed much more build-up; that character deserved an entire movie centered on them), but it’s incredibly atmospheric, building up a portentous mood that pays off in a big way.
Set during the era of Cromwell’s reign, Fanny Lye Deliver’d is very much a slow-burn portrait of strict zealotry crumbling against free-spiritedness. The Lye family is ruled by its iron-fisted, iron-hearted patriarch, the Ahab-esque Captain John (played with searing, domineering power by Charles “Tywin Lannister” Dance), who sees anything but devoted adherence to the Good Book as a grievous sin to be routed out immediately—and that includes any amusement or fun. His wife, the titular Fanny, silently labors under her husband’s influence. Played by Maxine Peake, Mrs. Lye is a shrinking violet indeed . . . but there is also a defiant glint in her eyes, which she cannot hide forever.
When the family’s bucolic lifestyle is intruded upon by a pair of strangers (Freddie Fox and Tanya Reynolds) who claim to have been waylaid by highwaymen, we can see exactly how they are going to bridle against Captain John’s harsh ruleset. And yet, the film itself is full of surprises, playing with various influences ranging from Witchfinder General and The Witch to A Field in England and even, of all things, Funny Games.
There’s an awful lot to unpack in Fanny Lye Deliver’d, and to call it a faultless film would be a bit much (I do think the film’s ultimate villain needed much more build-up; that character deserved an entire movie centered on them), but it’s incredibly atmospheric, building up a portentous mood that pays off in a big way.
