The
lowdown: Set in post-war Britain, "Let Him Have It" is the real-life
story of Derek Bentley (Christopher Eccleston),
a young man who cannot
read or write, has epileptic fits and has the mental age of ten (which
makes him perfectly
qualified to be US President).
Bentley falls in with bad company in the form of Chris Craig, a schoolboy
who has an
obsession with the American
gangster culture and takes a gun to school with him. The early scenes focus
on Bentley
and his relationship with
his family, his friendship with Craig, and his desire to be part of the
gang of small-time criminals
of which Craig is a member.
However, Bentley's otherwise
simple life takes a turn for the worse when he steals a set of keys from
a butcher's shop
and gives them to a gang
member, as he strives for acceptance by the gang. Craig and Bentley plan
to break into the
store, but when the police
are called a rooftop confrontation leads to tragedy. The title of the film
comes from this scene,
when Craig is holding a
policeman at gunpoint and Bentley shouts "Let him it, Chris", at which
point Craig shoots and
wounds the policeman, although
it is another policeman who is fatally wounded. The subsequent court case
raised the
question of whether Bentley
was telling Craig to shoot or to surrender the gun. Indeed, there are serious
doubts as to
whether the real-life Bentley
said these words at all, or was "verbaled" by police officers intent on
getting a conviction
for the murder of their
colleague at any cost.
Craig and Bentley stand trial
on murder charges, and are both found guilty. Because Craig was only 16,
he was spared
the death penalty and sentenced
to imprisonment at Her Majesty's pleasure. Bentley, on the other hand,
was sentenced
to death by hanging because
he was 19 years old, despite the fact that he did not fire the gun. The
judge ignored the jury's
request for clemency, and
the efforts of Bentley's father to clear his son's name were in vain. The
case was taken as far
as the House of Lords, but
the politicians of the day refused to here the case until the sentence
had been carried out.
Christopher Eccleston is
brilliant in his first film role, and what is quite possibly his finest
acting perfomance. The scenes
where he gets a visit from
his family in prison and where he writes a final letter to his mother are
particularly touching.
Paul Reynolds is also superb
as Chris Craig, while the supporting cast is also generally very good.
This is a compelling
film that will leave viewers
thinking very carefully about the merits of the death penalty. On the other
hand, the film portrays
Bentley as an innocent who
was led astray, but glosses over the fact that he was armed with a knuckleduster
and knew
that he was committing a
crime. Nevertheless, this is a powerful and moving film that raises important
questions about
the British justice system,
and is highly recommended for all who love quality drama. Bentley's conviction
was later
overturned, while Craig
was released after ten years in prison.
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