Archie

On screen he seemed like the perfect man and had a perfect life. Nothing could be further from the truth. He had a terrible childhood. He made a successful career but he understandably had his demons. He was a good man whose childhood affected him his whole life. Only when he became a father did he really find peace and happiness. He didn't feel like he had to make the most money or need any public adoration. He was comfortable being a father even though it came very late in life for him. I always liked him as an actor whether it was a romantic comedy or a dramatic thriller but I really came to respect him as a person.

Cary Grant was always one of my favourite film stars.

When I saw this series and Grant being played by Jeremy Issacs I thought he doesn't look anything like Grant and it would be terrible .

How wrong I was. Very quickly Issaacs became Grant in a compelling series of the man behind the name 'Cary Grant' .

Binge watched the 4 episodes and found it riveting .

Isaacs plays Grant brilliantly

Can't really say much else, but need to fill out the required wordage to say I think it is certainly worth a watch particularly if you enjoyed Grants' films and gives a riveting glimpse behind the persona.

This is a very entertaining and beautifully made drama. It is not really a biography, it doesn't go through his life story - indeed it virtually glosses over his Hollywood career instead focusing on his relationship with his fourth wife in the 60s and his relationship with his mother. It does this sensitively, emotionally and intelligently.

Not simply listening his career allows the story to explore the man himself and what's wonderfully refreshing these days is that is doesn't dis him like so many biographies of celebrities tend to do these days. He wasn't perfect but he comes across as a genuinely nice guy.

Whilst the main narrative is set in the 60s, there are flashbacks into his awful childhood in Bristol. These insights into his past explains who he became. Considering these traumatic experiences, it's amazing that he turned out so normal.

It's a very watchable four hours.

Having read Dyan Cannon's book first, I was not as taken aback as many of the reviewers appear to be. The series is very much from Dyan's point of view and from her emotional stance. It portrays how she felt in various situations with Cary before and during their relationship. It's her story, not Cary's. Go into it with that understanding and you will enjoy the story for what it is. From his overcoming some traumatic situations in his youth, to using them to build a new character he could embody to protect himself, he learned how to cope with the expectations people had of him as an actor. He was not quite as successful though with coping with relationships, feeling very much like he always had to come on guard and leave before he could be abandoned. Bittersweet story that viewers may not appreciate if they have not read her book.

The characterisations here are definitively subpar. No one looks or sounds like the people they portray, except for Laura Aikman, who looks quite a bit like and acts very much like her part. Therein lies the rub. Far too much effort to get that right that everything else fell by the wayside. The title is a misnomer, to say the least. It's not about Archie, it's not about Cary. It's about Dyan. It should have been called "Dyan, Me, Me, Me and the 6 years I spent with that guy to whom I've served up a narcissistic manipulation pie with a light sprinkle of powdered truth".

He said it best, everything is a confrontation to her. And every confrontation in this lifetime movie of the week is a character assassination for every acquaintance she makes. Everything that goes wrong is always someone else's fault. He does drugs, he sold the dog, he's overbearing and controlling, his mother is a beach, his biz partner is a time stealer. Despite all her obvious flaws, the production makes everyone else out to be the bad guy and poor misunderstood her. Every scene is manicured and curated to paint everyone else in a bad light, and even when you think that maybe there's a bit of balance here, it quickly turns to self-victimizing pandering, expecting the audience to be too stupid to see it.

An excellent study into the true character of a bitter ex-lover, but very little in the way of the person for whom we were duped into thinking it was about. It might think it's subtle, but it's not.