Based on the 1989 novel On the Edge by Peter Lovesey. Dead Gorgeous owes a debt to Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train.
It is black comedy thriller set in post World War 2 Britain. Antonia Ashton (Helen McCrory) is a vixen married to dull business tycoon Hector (Ron Cook.)
Antonia finds him dull, she is cheating on him with a younger man. Only she would end up less wealthy if they got divorced.
Rose Bell (Fay Ripley) is a meek woman living almost on the breadline. Her husband is miserly civil servant, Barry. He is also a boorish drunk who abuses Rose.
Rose later discovers that Barry has been cheating on her with another woman. Hence why they are poor, he has another family to raise.
Both women knew each other during the war and reconnect. Only Antonia, a devious schemer hatches a plan to get rid of both husbands.
Antonia arranges Barry's death in a tube train accident. She expects Rose to commit an accidental death on Hector.
Maybe not original, this is a sumptuous period drama. It works as both Hector and Rose are basically decent people. Not people that should either be victims or be on the wrong side of the law.
McCrory has fun as the glamorous underhanded cheater.
