This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Excellently entertaining series with some interesting slants on the history but I appreciate that the writers did not set out to create a drama-documentary. Although they did incorporate some historical accuracy, anyone not knowing the real history of the Civil War could/would be very confused by some of the content. The real Thomas Rainsborough did not marry someone called Angelica Fanshawe and he is buried in the now disappeared graveyard of St John's, Wapping.Pity that IMD have posted a picture of John Simm/Sexby's stand-in rather than JS/Sexby himself!!!!!I am also totally stunned that the makers of the series insisted that they could not find suitable filming locations in the UK. I could have suggested any number of suitable locations both privately owned (but the owners have allowed filming) and NT or English Heritage. It seems amazing that with so much Tudor and Jacobean property here, not to mention forests etc that they deemed it necessary to ship cast and crew several thousand miles away to South Africa.

I'm accepting TDW as something designed for television and for that reason necessarily had to compromise its script, sets and melodrama to please the medium. Even assuming such, the story was captivating, the acting exceptional, and the sets and action convincing, if relatively modest. A few of the commenters herein have far better knowledge of this period of England's history and I cannot pass judgment on historical accuracy, though again, a mass TV audience might be less interested in such. Let me suggest that, if TDW didn't fit the historical facts too well, it certainly presented the intrigue, betrayal, ambiguity, futility and tragedy that certainly resulted from the period's events. But I've a biased view. At fifty-eight I find myself less enamored with kitten-like sexpots and more wooed by earthy beauty like that of Miss Riseborough. I probably would've still clapped at the end if her Angelica had been crowned Queen.

The English Civil War has often been over looked as a subject for drama, with most films being very inaccurate. The Civil War was a important watershed moment in English history, showing a king can be overthrown, strengthen Parliament, reformed the English army and in the end limits power the power of kings and a tyrant. The Devil's Whore is also a new step for Channel Four, because they don't normally make costume dramas (BBC normally makes them). Channel Four focus has often been documentaries, buying good American programmes, and make comedy series like Peep Show and the Inbetweeners.The Devil's Whore has a similar approach to Rome, focusing on a fictional character who becomes involved in historical events and meets famous historical people.The focus of the programme is on Angelica Fanshawe (Andrea Riseborough), an aristocratic woman from a Catholic background. She has rejected God and sees the Devil because her mother ran off to become a nun. The show starts off with Angelica being a member of the Queen's household just before the English Civil War. But as the Civil War starts and Angelica is forced out King Charles I's camp she allies her herself with political radicals like the Levellers. She also falls in love with soldier and political radical Edward Sexby (John Sims). Angelica also gets very close to honest John Lilburne (Tom Goodman-Hill), a popular political radical, and she acts as his champion to Charles I (Peter Capaldi) and Oliver Cromwell (Dominic West).If you are excepting an action-packed war drama, you will be disappointed because they are few battle scenes. But there is some good sword fights which are more realistic then others in visual media. The strength of the show is the character drama, about Angelica and her struggles. The other main strength is the political background, from Charles I's struggles to Parliament, to Oliver Cromwell becoming no more then a military dictator. The history is actuate for the most part, for example, in English culture some people like to idealise Oliver Cromwell as a great liberator: in real life he took over through a military coup, oppressed dissenting voices and enforced his puritan views on the nation, as well being a butcher to Irish Catholics in Drogheda and Wexford.They is a excellent cast, having talented actors like John Sim, Dominic West, Michael Fassbender and Peter Capaldi (who I was particularly impressed with). Anglea Riseborough is a strong newcomer, who is able to hold her own with all these talented people. She turns her character from a lost young woman to a powerful voice of dissent. John Sim, Dominic West, Tom Goodman-Hill and Maxine Peake are also very good in their roles. The production values were excellent, and with a budget of £7 Million, it was put to good use. The set designer and historical scenes were created really well, showing that towns, cities and even important building like Parliament were not very grant. They was an earthy feel to show. Marc Munden was a good director, able to combine all the elements together. He gets the best out of his actors and does some good scenes. He makes the violence realistic and characters like Sexby were heavily scared.This show was not perfect, they were some problems. Some of the subplots did not lead anywhere, the surreal elements did not work for me, especially because of the realistic sitting, and there were historical inaccuracies, such as the omissions of characters like John Pym and Sir Thomas Fairfax. But the programme does show the complex political background with the different schools of thought during the mid-17th century.It is worthy viewing.

I can't believe that I know so little about the English Civil War and this series has stimulated me to learn more. The characters were portrayed so well that I feel I want to know so much more about those who were real people. John Simm's performance as Edward Sexby haunts me because he spent so much time longing for a relationship with Angelica, then finally reached his goal, only to move away from her again towards another greater goal. It was inspiring, and I was captivated by the visual impact and the political power of the plot. Like the West Wing, the Devil's Whore managed to make me interested in political issues that may seem dull elsewhere. Oliver Cromwell came across as a real man and most of the real historical figures were 3-dimensional. Angelica was fascinating and powerful, and it doesn't matter that she was not real historically - she held the story together. The details of the struggle between the monarch and the parliamentarians is very gripping and is at the roots of our present system of democracy - probably the model for all democracies. As a Quaker, I need to know as much as possible about this period in English history, because out of the many religious and political groups which grew up in the turbulence of the 17th century, the Society of Friends is one that has survived adapted to modern life - something that the Ranters and Levellers were unable to do.Overall, my main impression was one of fascination with the story of Angelica's life and Sexby's devotion to her - it was a great inspiring tale. Such a shame that it had to be cut down from 12 episodes to 4 - how much more would we have gained if we could have seen all that was planned?