Continuing BBC Three’s trend for creating hard-hitting original drama is Murdered by My Boyfriend.

Written by acclaimed writer Regina Moriarty (Silk, The Big House) and inspired by tragic, real life events, the one-off film tells the story of abuse victim Ashley (Georgina Campbell) and her volatile and violent boyfriend, Reece (Royce Pierreson).

To its credit, Murdered by My Boyfriend is not afraid to embrace the uncomfortable and uncompromising nature of the relationship and does so in a variety of interesting ways. Maintaining its connection with the young audience watching, we see Reece keeping tabs on Ashley through her phone and by hacking into her social media.

However, it is the use of their child to manipulate the situation (‘What is Mummy wearing?’) or disparaging Ashley’s weight to avoid a confrontation regarding Reece sleeping with other women that further projects his irrational behaviour, fear and insecurities.

The actual violence is kept to a handful of scenes, which works well in two ways for the drama. As there isn’t a huge amount of actual physical violence shown, it is truly shocking when it does happen. The initial altercation is a heart in mouth moment, but this quickly escalates to the even more shocking attack in the clothes shop: a really raw scene that brings home the animalistic nature of abuse and the abuser. It also means that the majority of the violence is led by the script and the cast, showcasing the mental and emotional abuse suffered by Ashley.

Moriarty’s script doesn’t waste a word either, subtly showcasing cracks in the relationship from an early age (‘Who’s Mick?’), tying Ashley down with a child to keep and slowly isolating her from her friends. The language of the script is contemporary and relatable, and highlights a world that the viewer can feel comfortable in, before playing on our expectations with its more violent circumstances.

Paul Andrew Williams’ (The Children, Song For Marion) direction is another highlight. Stylistically the film is very artistically shot with a jarring mix of editing styles, claustrophobic camerawork and voyeuristic POV shots that add to the film’s unsettling nature.

Incidental music is kept to a minimum so the emphasis is on the dialogue and performance. And while the film has some lovely aesthetic touches, they never detract from the overall message. This is particularly noticeable is Ashley’s final attack, where the attack is underpinned with soft music and a cascade of feathers that plays off against the unseen, but clearly brutal violence.

However, the main credit must go to the actors involved. Pierreson (Thor: The Dark World) crafts a very chameleon-like charmer, whose personality veers wildly from sensitive partner to volatile abuser. That he is able to portray such duality so effectively is a credit to Pierreson’s affective range.

However it is Campbell (One Night, Freak) who is the drama’s shining star. Her display of her characters physical and mental decline from an outgoing and confident teenager to an emotionally fractured shell of her former self is mesmerizing. We feel all of Ashley’s unexpressed and internalized pain with just a look and Campbell promotes such audience sympathy by creating a character that is so aware of her situation but still can’t get over her obvious tension, frustration and fear.

Murdered by My Boyfriend is a chilling exploration of how relationships can turn nasty through domestic violence, but also provides a rationale behind those who suffer abuse yet do not leave. A well thought out, well executed piece of television and acted truthfully by all those involved, the film highlights a subject that is sadly all too prominent in today’s society.

Aired at 9pm on Monday 23 June on BBC Three.