© BBCThat conclusion is inescapable when you watch Sarah Phelps' 'The Sixth Commandment,' a powerful and skilfully written four part telling of how Field charmed his way into the lives of two senior citizens and set about destroying him.
'The Sixth Commandment' stars Irish actor Eanna Hardwicke as Field in what should be a big breakthrough performance by the Cork born actor.
However the BBC1 miniseries also boasts superb performances from Timothy Spall and Anne Reid as his victims and from a supporting cast that includes Sheila Hancock, Annabel Scholey, Adrian Rawlins and Amanda Root.
© BBCPhelps and director Saul Bibb begin their victim centred tale with the retirement of Spall's public school teacher and author, Peter Farquhar.
In an extremely sensitive portrayal, Spall depicts Peter Farquhar as a devout Anglican wrestling with his sexuality.
The academic visits a Church of England vicar, Jonathan Slinger's Reverend Andrew Foreshew-Cain to offload about his struggles with being gay and how that squares with his devout beliefs.
Insisting he should be punished for being deviant because the Church frowns upon his sexuality, the Reverend Foreshew-Cain responds sympathetically, asking Peter if Christ would want him to be lonely and unhappy?
© BBCAvoiding the question, Peter insists it's a moot point because he doesn't believe he could be loved by another man in the way the vicar is describing.
Taking up a role as a lecturer in Buckingham University, that possibility appears to open up when Hardwicke's student Ben Field arrives late for one of his lectures.
The duo immediately hit it off, with Field later turning up out of the blue at a local church.
After inviting him round for tea in his Maids Moreton home, Field quickly inveigles his way into Peter's life by appearing to share his love of poetry and his devotion to the Anglican Church.
© BBCIt isn't long before he professes his love for Farquhar, moving into his home and is persuading the academic and author to change his will, much to the surprise of his brother Adrian Rawlings' Ian Farquhar and his wife Amanda Root's Sue.
Conor MacNeill's failed magician and friend of Field's, Martyn Smith moves into the house as well but not long afterwards, Peter starts to suffer bouts of delirium during a lecture and a book signing.
Put into respite care in an old person's home, he quickly recovers.
However after his return, he is found dead in his living room with a half drunk bottle of whisky.
© BBCAfter selling Peter's house, Field befriends Anne Reid's spinster Ann Moore-Martin who enjoys a close relationship with her niece, Annabel Scholey's Ann-Marie Blake.
Like Peter, she is a lonely soul and a devout Christian.
And like him, she is also charmed by the silver tongued Field who seduces her and starts to persuade her to change her will.
Ann-Marie is suspicious of Field and is concerned about how he has inserted himself into Ann's life and started to drive a wedge between her and her aunt.
© BBCWhen Ann suffers bouts of delirium that result in her being hospitalised, she starts to ask questions about his behaviour.
When the Buckinghamshire Police wake up to the similarities between the Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin cases, it sparks an investigation spearheaded by Jonathan Aris' DCI Mark Glover, Anna Crilly's DS Natalie Golding and James Harkness' DS Richard Earl.
Like a lot of British TV crime dramas ripped from the headlines, 'The Sixth Commandment' is meticulously researched show that pays its dues to the diligent detectives who eventually secured Field's conviction.
The final episode is also a gripping courtroom drama in which Field ducks and weaves in the witness box and tries to hoodwink the jury.
© BBCHowever his crimes eventually catch up with him.
Where Phelps' drama really scores, though, is its focus on the victims of Field's manipulation, his gaslighting and his murderous intent.
Spall and Reid turn in devastating performances as Field's lonely victims, showing how even the most intelligent people can be duped and cruelly exploited.
Both actors' depictions of Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin's dramatic decline are heartbreaking and their performances also serve as a reminder of just how underappreciated their contributions to British television drama and film over the years have been.
© BBCIf 'The Sixth Commandment' is a testament to Reid and Spall's prowess as actors, it also announces Hardwick as a performer of some note.
With his polite English tones and creepy surface charm, it is easy to see from his performance how Field's victims could be hoodwinked.
However Hardwicke also masters the arrogance and narcissism of a conman and killer who thinks he is cleverer than everybody else, even when he is facing barristers in the courtroom.
After playing second fiddle to Paul Mescal, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Dervla Kirwan and Shauna Kerslake in shows like 'Normal People' and 'Smother,' this feels like a performance that could really catapult his career.
© BBCMacNeill turns in an eye catching performance too as Smith who ended up in the dock with Field, delivering a twitchy, troubled depiction.
Scholey's portrayal of Ann Moore-Martin's niece burns with understandable rage and regret at the loss of her aunt and the cruelty visited upon her, with Ben Bailey-Smith providing sturdy support as her husband Simon.
Adrian Rawlins and Amanda Root are fantastic top, with the former delivering a wonderful portrait of a man whose willingness to accept his brother's romantic choice gives way to simmering anger.
Sheila Hancock is also wonderful as Liz Zetti, a friend of both victims who subsequently had a close call after being sweet talked by Field and Smith.
© BBCThere's no showboating from Aris, Crilly and Harkness as the detectives who helped construct the prosecution's case against Field and rightly so.
All three deliver earnest performances as the hard working cops who succeeded in putting Field behind bars for the murder of Peter Farquhar - even if he was acquitted of the attempted murder of Ann Moore-Martin.
However the person who deserves the biggest round of applause is Phelps who has crafted a textbook example of how to write a victim centred drama about a true crime.
Sparing the audience some of the worst examples of Field's cruelty, she nevertheless captures the monstrosity of his behaviour.
© BBCMore importantly, she powerfully demonstrates the huge gaping hole his victims left in the lives of those who really loved them.
With the help of director Saul Bibb, Phelps has delivered one of the most deeply affecting television crime dramas of recent times.
It is a superb piece of writing that deserves every award going.
('The Sixth Commandment' was broadcast on BBC1 in the UK from July 17-25, 2023, with all episodes made instantly available for streaming on the BBC iPlayer)
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