The Rapture… that thing that will never happen, yet it’s in some nonsense religious book that one day the mythical deity will cause Earth to burn, and only the righteous will be hurried off into heaven, while the rest of us die a nasty death.
The drama brings disability to the fore, as real-life wheelchair user Ruth Madeley (Years And Years) plays clinical psychologist Dr Gabs Fox, who’s gone through a life-changing car crash that’s left her in that position, whilst also killing her husband.
Because reasons, she’s assigned the toughest case in a psychiatric hospital, where firecracker Bethany Krall (India Amarteifio) is holed up because it’s believe she killed her mother. Naturally, like all murderers, “I’m innocent, I tells ya!”, or is she really?
Obviously, no spoilers, and I’ll only mention things that are confirmed in the trailer, but Godly nonsense is carried forth by Beth’s Dad, religious cult leader Leonard Krall (Sam Hazeldine), and this leads on to the title, where this fictional event is given the weight of climate alarmism and “The planet is on fire!!!”-type baloney, which happens in reality from arsonists.
Howeever, The Rapture is so slow-moving, and feels more like a 2-hour TV movie than a dragged out 5-hour drama series, and when one woman in the trailer shouts – in reference to Beth – “She can see the future!”, this is basically Knowing meets Left Behind. Yes, two Nicolas Cage films in one! Still, at least the former was worth watching, but not much of this is.
The Rapture begins tomorrow on BBC1 at 9pm, and will then be on BBC iPlayer.
It’s not yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD, but when it is, it will be listed on the New DVD, Blu-ray, 3D and 4K releases UK page.
However, you can buy the novel in paperback.
Director: Eva Sigurdardottir
Producers: Betsan Morris Evans
Screenplay: Bryony Kimmings
Novel: Liz Jensen
Music: Dominik Scherrer
Cast:
Dr Gabs Fox: Ruth Madeley
Bethany Krall: India Amarteifio
Leonard Krall: Sam Hazeldine
Mel Thomas: Ruth Jones
Dick Carwyn: Iwan Rheon
Max Leland: Stephen Campbell Moore
Frasier Melville: Jack Farthing
Sam Duval: Simon Armstrong
Ed Blanchett: Richard Elis
Rafiq Khemiri: Naby Dakhli
Dr. Ehmet: Dean Rehman
Emily Baxter: Ferosa Mackenzie
Simon ‘Sonic’ Keegan: Robert Rhodes
Gail Pritchard: Gaby French
Anika Drake: Siena Kelly
Christina Lawson: Margaret Clunie
Caroline Wren MP: Lisa Palfrey
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.