User Reviews

Okay tell us what you really think, Ruth (Julie T. Wallace), wife of Bobbo (Dennis Waterman), and her hatred will be drawn out for nearly four hours and one of the best British mini-series ever. Shown in hour installments over four nights, this is in no way comparable to the 1989 Hollywood version of the Fay Weldon novel. This is quite graphic in its depiction of a mentally abused woman whose whole world becomes shattered and whose shyness doesn't stop her from glorious revenge out of her envy for her lot in life.

Glamorous Mary Fisher (Patricia Hodge) may have a dull name, but as seen standing on the top of her seaside home in the beginning of this episode, it is quite a glamorous one. Waterman takes Hodge home after an evening out with his wife, awkwardly spilling a drink on Mary and dropped Ruth off as he sets out for his first liason with Mary. "We survive by hardness", Ruth says in her unforgettable narration, indicating how "the dogs of the world" manage it. Wallace is attractive in a unique way, and Hodges (resembling Camilla Parker Bowles) isn't exactly a supermodel either. So this is about sexiness over physical beauty.

The only unattractive part of Ruth is the big brown mole on her upper lip, shown in closeup after she realizes silently that she's losing her husband. Bobbo doesn't hide the fact that he's having an affair, but still, you can't help but sympathize with Ruth for feeling neglected even if there are a few so romantic scenes between her and Bobbo. It's just that after meeting Mary, his lovemaking with Ruth becomes less than satisfactory, obviously a chore. The build-up for Ruth's revenge is slow in the making, and the writing doesn't paint these characters as villains. Wallace is quite subtle in every way, her pain hidden even if it is with the open knowledge of the affair Bobbo openly admits.

This mini-series engages the viewer right from the start, and the fact that American viewers have come to love this even more than the Streep/Barr film indicates the appreciation for detail, something that the film rushed through. For viewers like me who have no patience for unnecessary length, it's the little details that stick with you. When I watched this the first time decades ago, I was delighted by its pacing, and got through it all in one sitting. The first episode grabbed me so completely that like a classic novel, I couldn't put it down.

I remember watching the mini-series The Life and Loves of a She-Devil when it debuted back in 1986, and it's hard to believe that was nearly 40 years ago, wow four decades ago. Dennis Waterman, Patricia Hodge, Julie T. Wallace, and of course Tom "Doctor Who" Baker. I remember episode one, and for some reason it's taken me ages and ages to finally post an imdb user review. It's encouraging that two reviews are already there, one from 2021 and one from 2022, so anyway the mini-series lives on for sure! One feels some sympathy for Wallace's character who devotes herself as a mom and wife, but all for what init.