Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall

SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Megamind To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

castricv LEt me say first that I am a big fan of both the leads. Tenant will always be Doctor Who for me after Tom Baker and Watson is fantastic. Only problem? We've seen this backroom politic drama before and almost always done better. Whether it is the deliciously evil House of Cards (UK) or in drama form in the Good Wife n the US, so I really wanted a new spin or feel.Didn't get that. Tenant's motivation are sound, but in no real way would it have happened like this. He either makes a push knowing there will be huge backing or at least have a fail safe. IN this case there were none and he is left to try a back handed way at prominence again through his wife. OK fine. It's well acted, but mostly soulless. The autistic son could have been compelling, but is mostly left for easy emotional pulls later (more on this).There are non-affairs, political maneuvering that is beneath the intelligence of the film, and too literal analogies between their sex life and their current political status. It seems made for those who get their news from The Sun and can't sit through House of Cards.My biggest problem is that even with the plodding through 4 hours they ACTUALLY HAD the right ending!! If only they had stopped it after his autistic son gives him the toy at the diner table. It was a complete illustration of how ambition and lies can destroy your soul and your family. He lost everything for nothing and couldn't see all the good around him until it was too late. I almost felt the show vindicated itself with that ending.....But no. They have to add this strange pc ending where they both are magically in power and she is prime minister and he is on HER cabinet. For shame. The point was not to have her make it to the top and him drag along. It was to show them as both miserable people who have self imposed this upon themselves and we are all worse off for these people in power. What a missed opportunity. Or perhaps England has gotten so nihilistic that it cannot see higher truth anymore?? Ahwell. 5/10

trimmer31 Let me preface this by saying that David Tennant's portrayal of Aiden was masterful and, while I feel Emily Watson was poorly cast here, her effort as Freya was very well done, as well.However -- either the writing was weak, or this was a 6 hour miniseries cut down to three. So much is missing. So much is there and makes you ask yourself, why?The son... what role does he play? Having a child with challenges like this, there was so much character development, for the child as well as for his parents, that could have gone on around this story arc that... didn't. The daughter? Other than the fact of the existence of children in the home (and the nanny being a presence), there is little development here. Many of the plot lines simply... end... without any closure. What happened with the nanny? What happened with the son's challenges at school and elsewhere? What was the purpose of Aiden's father's death? I feel that this could have been so much better, had only they taken the time to tell the story in more depth, or not left so many arcs hanging. How do you go from "I'll take the children away so you can move out," in one scene, to arrival at #10 as an obviously estranged but "united front in front of the cameras" power couple in the next? As I said, the story, while brilliantly acted, was choppy; either poorly written, or half of it is still laying on the editing room floor.

arlene bradley Brilliant drama, a gripping and extraordinary film about politics, power, and political marriages. David Tennant (Aiden Hoynes) and Emily Watson (Freya Hoynes) are brilliant in this film, in roles that are not typical for either one as their characters are not nice people. In fact most of the characters in this film are not nice people. David Tennant portrays Aiden with a very sinister side but with a touch of humanity. Almost all the really emotional scenes belong to Tennant who portrays them with perfection. Emily Watson is brilliant but could have portrayed a little more emotion. Ed Stoppard as Bruce Babbish is chilling, with friends like that you don't need enemies. The performances by all the actors are outstanding. Many of the tender moments in this film are between Aiden and his father, and Aiden and his son. Be aware that their are some strong sexual references in this film and including one very violet sex act at the beginning of part 2 between Tennant and Watson. A very good look at the seedy side of politics. The ending could have been a little better and the dialog could have been better,well worth watching and owning.

JohnLeeT In a performance that sets the small screen blindingly ablaze, so powerful that she turns our screens into pulsating, living organisms, Emily Watson proves that she has now, along with the award winning master work Appropriate Adult, conquered television and made the medium her own, as she has with motion picture greatness. From the moment the camera focuses on her, this film comes alive and her presence stuns the audience with the superb work she does as the wife of a British politician with her own ambitions. She is nothing short of brilliant in the role and it is unfortunate that her magnificence as an actor tends to highlight David Tenant's inadequacies. He definitely puts in a tremendous effort to equal Watson and his hard work reveals too much of how difficult it is for him and how futile it is. Watson is a national treasure and a gift to stage, screen, and now television audiences worldwide. There is no one who can deny that and Tenant must realize he is in way over his head and his reach is beyond his grasp. Watson attempts to lift him up to her own level and she is most gracious in trying desperately not to overshadow him. She is a generous actor and she has succeeded in bringing out the best in others, as in the case of even Adam Sandler. However, here it simply doesn't work and what she faces is even beyond her genius. The weakness in this piece is not only on the shoulders of a weak co-star, but a less than stellar director, and an obvious script. However, what Ms. Watson does in her portrayal of a lovely woman coming into her own and letting her talent lead her to the top of a male dominated environment is tremendous and borders on the purely astonishing. Emily Watson demonstrates again that she is the greatest actor working in any medium and that has been the case since her stunning debut in 1997's Oscar nominated Breaking the Waves. Anyone who walked away from that searing performance without having their soul touched to the very core is absent a soul altogether. As the years pass, her career spotlights her growing excellence, her maturing beauty, and utter command of every role she takes on. Anyone who appreciates greatness and recognizes superb talent must see this film if only for Emily Watson's exemplary performance, another triumph of the finest actor ever to step before a camera.8/12/2014 One can not help but be stunned by the uninformed voting of 28 people and the artistic appreciation of only two! Breathtaking!