Helen Archer | On 25, Jul 2023

In this era of what sometimes feels like wall-to-wall true crime, it is a little too easy to become desensitised to real life stories of abuse, torture and killing. Victims become avatars, their lives overlooked in favour of those of their murderers. The Sixth Commandment brings its victims into sharp focus, making for a viscerally sad viewing experience, but one that feels both respectful and necessary.

Written by Sarah Phelps – perhaps best known for her TV adaptations of Agatha Christie novels – and directed by Saul Dibb, whose previous work includes The Duchess and The Salisbury Poisonings, the four-part series looks at the murders of Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin. They were elderly neighbours in the village of Maids Moreton who died within two years of each other, after having been “befriended” by Ben Field. A voluntary church warden, Field preyed on the loneliness and deep faith of his victims, and their capacity for love, ultimately destroying their state of mind to such an extent that they lost sight of themselves.

The first episode focuses on Farquhar (Timothy Spall), a passionate and committed English teacher who, after retirement, continued to lecture at Buckingham University. It was there he met Field (Éanna Hardwicke), who quickly targeted him with intense lovebombing, inveigling his way into Peter’s heart, his life – and his will. Spall plays Peter with such tenderness – from his deep, deep loneliness, and his desire for the physical human affection that had eluded him his entire life, to his inner conflict between his Christian faith and his sexuality, and his love and appreciation of the world around him and the people in it. It becomes almost unbearable viewing, as Field begins his campaign of drugging, gaslighting and abusing, until Peter is a shell of his former self, doubting his own reality and believing himself to be the abuser.

The second episode details the relationship between Field and Moore-Martin, whom Anne Reid plays with a joyfulness that is likewise sucked out of her as Field drugs and abuses her in much the same way as he did Peter – and as he planned to with future victims whose names he listed in one of his diaries. Although Field was found not guilty of Moore-Martin’s attempted murder, it was he who made her last months in this world so completely desperate. For his part, Éanna Hardwicke plays Field with a kind of detached superiority, with very little in the way of human expression. Only his narcissism remains, in his affected speeches, his awful rapping and his constant posing for selfies. It is clear, even when apprehended, that he thinks he is above the law, as he patronises his way through the interview rooms and the courts.

What he didn’t take into account, in targeting these apparently isolated souls, was the fierce love they engendered. Though romantically alone, they inspired a great deal of affection from their family and friends. By the third episode, Moore-Martin’s beloved niece Ann-Marie Blake (Annabel Scholey) has contacted the police, and the next two episodes detail the investigation and the ultimate trial of Ben Field, and of his alleged co-conspirator, Martyn Smith (Conor MacNeill).

It was always going to be a difficult case to prove, given that, until the exhumation of Peter’s body, the evidence was mainly circumstantial. The complicated case is handled with determination and sensitivity by DCI Mark Glover (Jonathan Aris), himself on the brink of retirement, who liaises with both Ann-Marie and Peter’s brother, Ian (Adrian Rawlins), and sister-in-law, Sue (Amanda Root). It is their pain, their huge personal loss at the forefront of the second half of the series.

Perhaps the most sadistic thing Field did to his victims was make the last period of their lives so full of confusion, as he eroded their very beings. This drama restores their dignity, which was so cruelly taken from them. The final scenes highlight the wonderful performance by Spall, who seems to capture the very essence of the gentle Peter. The Sixth Commandment is a thoroughly moving experience, a fitting tribute to the lives of Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin, and their families’ fight for justice.

Add to Watchlist