Movie Review: ‘The Devil In The Flesh’

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Review by James Lindorf

Raymond Radiguet’s 1923 French novel “Le Diable au corps” has been adapted for the screen before, most notably in a celebrated 1947 French film and an Australian version in 1989. Writer, director, cinematographer, and composer Oscar Wenman-Hyde brings his own interpretation to digital platforms on July 28th, a date deliberately chosen to coincide with the anniversary of the start of World War I in 1914, the setting of the original story. This is very much a family operation, with his wife Jade Wenman-Hyde serving as producer, wardrobe supervisor, script supervisor, and intimacy coordinator. The result is a genuine creative vision that occasionally suffers from having no outside voice to rein it back in.

After her husband is called to arms during World War II, Rachel (Elizabeth Grace) volunteers for the land army. Far from home, she falls into an affair with the teenage Flynn (Henry Fisk). The most interesting creative decision Wenman-Hyde makes is shifting the perspective from the young man, as in the source novel, to the older woman and her struggle to find herself and give in to her desires. It makes this film a natural companion piece to the book and the earlier adaptations, exploring the same story from the other side of the relationship. Fisk is good throughout and is at his best early in the film, navigating that uncertain territory between childhood and adulthood with a naturalness that makes Flynn the more sympathetic of the two. Grace does fine work with difficult material, but the character’s unlikeability is a structural problem no performance can fully solve.

The problem is Rachel. She is callous in ways the film does not give itself enough time to balance with charm. She writes to her husband away at war, describing how she has never felt more alive than she does with Flynn, which is a difficult thing to come back from. Then there is an age gap that a lot more people struggle with 100 years post-publication. In the film, it is addressed directly, including a line about how their difference in years is more than numbers; it is a record of everything that separates them. The film falters by never convincingly establishing what draws them together beyond desire, and the particular desperation of someone who felt abandoned the moment her husband left. Flynn wants her, and she wants to feel wanted. Long stretches of narration carry the emotional weight that dialogue might otherwise handle. There is a recurring choice to cover dialogue with the sound of a passing train, possibly suggesting their passion is a runaway inevitability. Unfortunately, the metaphor does not pay off in the story’s trajectory. The scenes continue at the same pace and direction afterward as if the sound choice never happened.

The World War II setting changes little from the original World War I context beyond some period detail and costuming. There is no reason the story needed to move forward in time, and the film does not offer one. The bigger issue is that at 73 minutes, the film has a few ideas too many. Repetitive scenes and moments of artistry for their own sake rather than in service of the story suggest two creative partners who are each other’s biggest supporters without anyone to push back. When both people in the room think something is a good idea, there is no friction, and friction is often where the best decisions get made.

In a film with this many limitations, it is worth noting what they got right, and the look and feel of the physical world they created is near the top of that list. Wenman-Hyde’s original music and song selections pair surprisingly well with the World War II setting even if the mix is not always seamless. There are moments where the modern sensibility of the score pulls you slightly out of the period. Still, the intention is clear, and it works more often than it does not. The film is genuinely good-looking, with lighting and cinematography that belie its micro-budget and suggest a filmmaker with a real visual instinct. Jade Wenman-Hyde’s contribution deserves specific recognition. The period costuming is convincing and carefully considered, and her work as intimacy coordinator results in scenes that feel passionate and comfortable rather than exploitative, which is no small achievement for a story built around a taboo relationship.

If “Le Diable au corps” is your favorite book, pay for this without hesitation. If you are curious about the perspective shift and want to see a familiar story told from the other side, a rental is a reasonable investment. If you scrolled past it and thought maybe, keep thinking about that until it finds its way onto a subscription service. “The Devil in the Flesh” earns a 2.25 out of 5.

Genre: Drama, Romance, War
Original Language: British English
Release Date (Digital): July 28th, 2026
Runtime: 1h 13m
Director: Oscar Wenman-Hyde
Producer: Oscar Wenman-Hyde, Jade Wenman-Hyde
Screenwriter: Raymond Radiguet, Oscar Wenman-Hyde
Production Co: OJ Productions