I did not know about this case before I watched this film, but the synopsis on the back of the video case was so compelling I had to rent it. I did not expect to be emotionally involved but it was hard to keep from shouting at the TV screen that it's unfair. The system portrayed seemed almost hellbent on sending Derek to the gallows, guilty or not. Even when evidence seem tainted or appeared to cast doubts on the veracity of some of the testimonies, the only cry ringing out was that a cop was killed and someone's blood must be spilled in revenge. It is chilling to know that sometimes justice can be blinded when emotions are involved, showing how important it must be to fully understand the implications before imposing any penalties which cannot be reversed even if desired.

!!!! SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO DON`T KNOW THE CASE !!!!

Forget the examples of " Innocent " Irishman from republican ghettoes who just happened to be visiting England during IRA bombing campaigns during the mid 1970s and being " falsely accussed of crimes they didn`t commit " . The most glaring example of injustice is the case of Derek Bentley and Christopher Craig . Bentley and Craig were caught breaking into a warehouse in the 1950s . 19 year old Bentley was arrested by the police on the scene . Minutes later 16 year old Craig shot a policeman dead . Guess who the state hung for the murder of the cop ? That`s right the 19 year old who was already in police custody and had nothing to do with the shooting

I repeat this is the greatest injustice ever carried out by an English court , a great wrong that can never be put right was carried out . However I do have a problem with LET HIM HAVE IT and that is in the portrayal of Christopher Craig . Poor Christopher , poor poor Christopher who shot a policeman was really a victim of the system . He grew up in poverty , he was surrounded by criminals , guns were easy to access , all those Hollywood movies put ideas into young Christopher`s head and tradgedy of tragedies Christopher`s big brother was arrested by the old bill and sentenced to a long prison term . Poor unfortunate Christopher , what chance did he have in life ? or at least that`s what the film seems to be trying to tell us . It also insinuates that he actually shot the policeman ( Whose name I`ve forgotten - You do get the impression only Bentley and Craig are the victims here ) by accident . And there`s an incident that goes against all the other accounts I`ve read on the case - The scene where Craig " falls " off the roof . I`ve read elsewhere from several sources that Craig shouted " Give my love to < His girlfriend > " and jumped . Instead we see a revenge filled Fairfax growling at Craig with the heavy hint that the criminal was thrown off the roof by the detective .

There`s one other thing that bothered me about the events in this account . There`s a lot of sympathy for both Bentley and Craig ( perhaps too much sympathy for the latter ) so why did the film show the most controversial aspect of that fateful night ? This is where Bentley screams " Let him have it Chris " , hence the title . Over the years Craig is on record as saying that Bentley had said no such thing and that the police had lied and despite what he`d done in the past there`s absolutely no motive whatsoever for Craig to keep up this pretence . It`s almost certain the police at the trial lied under oath by saying Bentley somehow encouraged Craig . Of course in those days lawyers , judges and most especially juries believed what the police would tell them and it`s strange that a film with cynical 1990s sensibilities seems to take what the police said on that night as gospel truth . In many ways it jars with the bleeding heart attitude that makes up the rest of the film .

Flaws aside I`ll give the film its due . The director has picked a very good cast with Brit vets Tom Courtenay and Tom Bell adding experience to the two newbie stars of the film : Paul Reynolds who unfortunately seems to have disappeared and Christopher Eccleston who`s great here and is great in everything else he`s done which gives hope to even the most disillusioned DOCTOR WHO fan

So watch the film and decide for yourself what you think about the death penalty . Bare in mind that there were two victims that night and neither of them were Christopher Craig

This review contains what may be considered as SPOILERS by those who do not know the true story on which this film is based.

Derek Bentley was one of the most unfortunate men to suffer the death penalty in Britain. He was mentally sub-normal, he didn't kill anyone personally and even his fatal cry to his accomplice, Christopher Craig, echoed in this film's title, was disputed in court and is anyway ambiguous in meaning. And even after his conviction, both judge and jury recommended clemency. But a policeman had died, Craig (who shot him) was too young to hang and so Bentley was murdered by the state.

The strength of Peter Medak's reconstruction of these events is that neither man is presented as a devil or an angel; Craig (played by Paul Reynolds) is just a boy with fantasies of becoming a gangster (but no less dangerous for that); Bentley (Chris Ecclestone) a sad and lonely figure, motivated by the desperate need to belong. Both young actors are excellent. Their portrayals are set against a bleak but convincing backdrop of the forgotten rhythms of life in austerity Britain, a period (perhaps because it predated rock and roll) rarely celebrated by cheap nostalgia.

'Let Him Have It' is not the most entertaining film ever made, but its power grows as you watch it. Certainly a film with the power to make proponents of the death penalty uneasy.