This is undoubtedly a good film, well acted, good period feel / details etc.. and I certainly enjoyed it, however, by the time I had finished watching it I couldn't help feeling that the it was somewhat out of balance. The last part of the film is all about Cleave getting his revenge on the errant couple because of his jealousy over the fact that Edgar had been stolen away from him. Unfortunately, the dramatic effect is lessened because not enough is made of his relationship with the pair early on in the film. Hints are given that he has a homosexual fixation on Edgar and that he is jealous when Stella starts to get too close to Edgar. Much more should have been made of this aspect to explain his vindictive behaviour towards the pair when he has them in his control at the climax, especially as the scenes where he deals directly with Edgar are very brief. Whether what we see is as a result of severe editing or whether the whole thing could have been written better I don't know. I plan to read the novel to find out whether more is made of this. Worth seeing, but certainly flawed.
