Frankly, this TV miniseries is often little more than humdrum hooey.
It can't be criticised much though, as it never tries to be more than lightweight. And as Channel 5 now create a LOT of miniseries dramas of this base level, the end result is not surprising. This is yet another of Channel 5's standard output of miniseries - ie not very original.
It's of a low level quality rather than a poor quality, as it's not badly made. It's just been tailored to the lowest common denominator. There's always something in these C5 miniseries that every householder can connect with. And that 'something' is sadly not anything that is of any real interest to me. It's a bit like watching an on-screen depiction of a Mills & Boon novel, ie it's a story that doesn't aspire to be a great work of dramatic depth like Tolstoy's 'Anna Karenina'!
There are too many of the tropes frequently used in this level of TV drama: the new best friend who might in fact be plotting against our heroine, the old best friend who might be after aspects of the heroine's life, the husband who . . . (Need I go on?!)
It's hardly difficult to work out what's going on in the plot, from the get-go. So that's the end guessed, right from the start! Where's the fun for the viewer, then?! Boo . . . Hiss . . . !
The best thing is seeing Hayley Mills in a non-typecast role, as an elderly - but dangerous - moneylender. The twee necklace of pearls she wears around her neck, while calmly delivering dark threats, gives us evil personified. Superb. And the two acting leads, Leanne Best and Anna Chancellor, do a good job with their roles. Plus it's nice to see an old face from 'The Bill' on our TV screens again. It's just that, put together, the drama is, well, banal. And largely predictable.
The only tweak to the end is in the last few minutes. But then the extra bit seems false, and badly explained. Why did AC's character capitulate so quickly to LB's character's account of events? After all, it could have been fiction, or a false memory. Plus we are left unsure as to whether the heroine will now go off and 'find' herself, without her family. Will she admit all to her boss? Will she ever trust her old best friend, who now seems a jealous unreliable madam? (That bit struck me as a pure soap-drama plot. NOT good!)
We now see the friend as intrinsically weak and our heroine as strong; but it doesn't feel relevant to the story. In other words, too much is pushed on the end of the 4-part drama. And pushed badly. Instead of being a neat twist, it seems laden and uncomfortable.
As with too many TV dramas these days: it's a case of style over substance. We are now seeing our heroine portrayed as stronger, and probably going to come out of the events a better person, but in fact that element doesn't ring true: it's too rushed. All this calm certainty is a complete about-face from her broken-down mood of the previous minutes! Oh dear, it all seemed so engineered: someone must have told the writers to pen this silliness. I sensed a horrible US TV movie plot there.
Ah well. Watch the drama for what it is, expect no more than it offers, and you won't go wrong. Otherwise . . .
Personally, I shall try to veer away from any more Channel 5 miniseries of this type. They just aren't worth the investment of my viewing time. I shall instead go and watch ITV's 'Malpractice': a miniseries much more to my liking . . . A more layered drama, with elements of depth, a more exciting storyline, and put together with some 'zing'.
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