Beth Cole You can tell how evil or - can't really say "good", let's settle for "less evil" - a person is by the length and intensity of their glares.It's as if John Barrymore and Gloria Swanson were brought in as acting coaches.Worsened by head-scratching plot developments such as throwing out a diaphragm but leaving its box in the medicine cabinet (huh?).Oh, and these high-achieving politicians haven't mastered the basic use of a shredder, yet.So if you can buy all that, maybe you'll like the show. I didn't and was lol-ing my way through the end.

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

jlthornb51 Emily Watson is fantastic in this tremendous British political drama. As the wife of an ambitious politician played by David Tennant, she gives what is nothing less than the performance of a lifetime. Ms. Watson exudes sexuality and her quiet beauty and stunning eyes are completely mesmerizing. In several sequences she virtually sets the screen afire with her volcanic but subdued passion. It is amazing to watch her create a character that is incredibly desirable and stunningly sensual while at the same time being strong willed and seemingly made of steel. Speaking volumes with just those magnificent eyes, she conveys more emotion in a glance than 50 pages of exposition. This is a character who is all woman and then some and there is no doubt regarding her prowess in the bedroom. However, she is equally adept in the cabinet room and her strength as a leader even surpasses her carnal appetites. Watson is the only actress who could manage this and it's wondrous to see. It is no wonder she is so acclaimed as an actor and after so many superb performances that she remains the most respected actress of our time. It doesn't seem possible that she could exceed herself with every role but she does so in film after film as her career continues to astound.

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!