Set between the years 1642 and 1660, “The Devils Mistress” charts the progress of the English Civil War through the eyes of the a 17 year old girl, the fictional Angelica Fanshawe.
First of all, let it be known that the blurb on the back of the DVD case is quite misleading in its attempts to market the product as more racy and spicy than it really is. The protagonist is described as a “manipulative” woman who “exploits a country in crisis in a bid to better her own position” and “embraces her sexuality to the shock of her husband”. The tagline is “in a country torn by war, she was the most dangerous weapon of all.” From all this you might be mistaken into thinking that “The Devil’s Whore” is a typical bodice-ripper / faux-historical melodrama, when it fact it is quite a tasteful period piece with a respectable, wholly sympathetic heroine who neither is nor does any of the things the blurb describes. Though there are a few instances in which historical license is taken, there is also a genuine sense of wanting to capture the key events of the English Civil War and integrate the fictional character of Angelica Fanshawe into the proceedings without compromising the authenticity of the piece. Originally a four-part miniseries, which has here been spread across two discs without any noticeable breaks, “The Devil’s Whore” alternates between two narratives: the life-story of Angelica Fanshawe (said to have been based on Anne Fanshawe, a memoirist who lived 1625 – 1680) and the English Civil War, following such recognizable figures as King Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, Thomas Rainsborough, John Lilburne and Edward Sexby. A good balance is maintained between the weighty historical events and Angelica’s more glamorous tribulations, and she is incorporated successfully enough into the proceedings that you may find it easy to believe the film’s (utterly false) claim that this is the “true” story of her life and times.Roughly spanning the years from 1638 to 1660 (to be more specific, the historical storyline begins with Charles’ embarrassing attempt to arrest members of Parliament in 1642, complete with his famous “it would seem my birds have flown” comment and ends with Cromwell’s death in 1658, though Angelica’s story begins and ends slightly before and after these events) the miniseries takes us through the Civil War: the chaotic courtroom trials of “freeborn” John Lilburne, the battles between the Cavaliers and Roundheads, the tension between various sects of Catholics and Protestants, the execution of King Charles, and the power vacuum that follows. – Amazon reviewer
Starring Andrea Riseborough, Dominic West, Tom Goodman-Hill.