THE DELIVERED -- A Puritan Porno

Review by Adam Donato

The Delivered is written and directed by Thomas Clay, who has not directed a feature since 2008’s Soi Cowboy. It stars Maxine Peake and Charles Dance as they play an older couple, Fanny and John, living on a remote farm in England with their young boy, Arthur. One day, they discover a young, naked couple infiltrating their home and stealing their clothes. Fanny and John decide to help the young couple in need until chaos ensues. This dramatic thriller dives into history to explore themes about religion and gender roles.

The focus of the story is Fanny coming into her own as a woman. It’s clear from the start that she is dissatisfied with her life. She loves her son, but her relationship with John is less than ideal. This plotline is the most well-executed and compelling part of the movie. Peake has the best performance in the movie as she is given the biggest opportunity to shine. Her character is one that seems forced into submission, so her quiet manner gives her ample opportunity to visually express her feelings, rather than through dialogue. As she is put to the test, one can’t help but root for her and her innate goodheartedness. 

Other than that, the movie is extremely below standard. It’s one big, long hostage situation that changes hands so much, you’ll be begging the characters just to kill each other when they get the upper hand. The action isn’t even exciting as every character is just so physically depleted throughout the entire movie. Also, get ready for some extended Biblical monologues. If someone watches this and takes away a whole lot of deep meaning from all the speeches concerning the moralities within a faith, that’s fine. Not to knock religion, but for the average viewer, it would be very difficult to follow the insane trains of thought the characters go down as they debate the role of sex within their faith.

Speaking of sex, wow this movie gets really weird very fast. Not to be crude, but there is an extended cuckolding sequence in the movie and it is wildly obnoxious and goes nowhere. It’s built up for a while as the implications of Fanny’s dissatisfaction of her life with John arise, but it ends  out of nowhere and it’s seldom dealt with for the rest of the movie. All that being said, if that’s your kink, The Delivered delivers!

It’s a wonder how or why someone who is as notable as Charles Dance is in this movie. He does a really good job at playing a similar role to his usual type. The movie looks very low budget though, which works to its advantage. Since the set is an old timey farm, it seems like the entire budget was spent on the wardrobe and, of course, Charles Dance. As one can see from the poster, the characters dress like what a child would think the pilgrims dressed like on Thanksgiving. 

This movie masquerades as this deep religious tale when in reality it’s boring and crude. There seems to be more prioritization of shock factor than actual concrete storytelling. An opening quote precedes the film and without it, there would be no recognition of what any of the themes are whatsoever. It’s about sex and religion? So, if one is into that, don’t check out The Delivered because there are much better movies that pursue the same goals that execute these ideas much more efficiently. 

The Delivered hits VOD on January 15.

Rating: 1/5