In the village of Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire, Peter Farquar and Anne Moore-Martin share the same street – just three doors down from one another. Unfortunately, this is not all they have in common. They also share a lover, and events are about to turn tragic.
And it is all true. BBC One’s latest series The Sixth Commandment is a heartbreaking story of exploitation and deceit, based on a real-life story that hit the headlines in 2017 and has now been adapted into a four-part drama.
Peter (Timothy Spall) is an older man; a novelist and former teacher who lives a quiet personal life. He struggles to completely come to terms with his homosexuality as a devout Christian, especially when it comes to telling his own family. But then he meets Ben (Normal People’s Éanna Hardwicke) while teaching – he’s religious too, as well as intelligent and caring.
The two are seemingly smitten with each another, but Peter suddenly falls ill and his loved ones grow increasingly concerned. And while Ben dotes on his partner, cracks in his generous persona begin to show. By the time he meets and starts to romance elderly Anne (Anne Reid) as well, alarm bells aren’t so much ringing as clanging.
Though the many headlines devoted to this bizarre case may have spoiled the plot in advance, that’s not the point of the series.
The Sixth Commandment pointedly refuses to fall into the trap of glorifying the killer and depicting Peter and Anne as simple victims in waitng. Instead, we spend time with them both, finding out who they are as people; later, we see how Peter’s death devastated his loved ones.
Ian Farquar and Annabel Scholey (who play Peter’s brother, Ian, and Anne’s niece, Ann-Marie) shine as the bereaved relatives who slowly come to realise that Farquhar might not be as innocent as he seems. They form the backbone of the show, particularly Ann-Marie, who turns detective in her attempts to find out the truth of what happened to her aunt.
Where it falls short, unfortunately, is pacing. Some parts feel drawn out, while more intriguing plot lines – like Ben’s friend, Martyn, who is friends with Peter too – are glossed over. It would have been great to see more of Conor MacNeill’s heartfelt performance.
A lot of time is spent with the police investigators as well. Efforts are made to bring personality and sentimentality to the characters but their late arrival – about halfway through the four-hour run – makes them difficult to care about. One is apparantly retiring? Good for him, stop going on about it: now let’s get back to the action.
However, the cast’s performances are what really bring this story together.
The performances and writing make the victims feel human, and that’s what ultimately makes The Sixth Commandment stand out. Hardwicke shines as Field – at first awkwardly charming (if a tad creepy), then eventually revealing his crueller side as the series progresses. We also spend time in the confusion and hurt that Peter and Anne experience when they find themselves ill, slowly shutting their families out to save face. Despite it being a hard watch, Spall and Reid’s layered performances are a breath of fresh air in a genre where victims too often are pushed to the background.
In spite of its flaws, The Sixth Commandment is a show that does not shy away from depciting the uncomfortable. It is not an easy watch by any means, but a worthwhile one nonetheless.
