For Her Sins

Starts out as an interesting and somewhat exciting drama, where everyone seems to have something dark and sinister to hide, but turns quickly into a mess where everyone is acting very unconvincingly and taking stupid and irrational decisions. That is Really annoying, because the basics of the storyline are quite interesting and a lot of money have obviously been thrown into the production. Jo Joyner has always something to offer, but is left empty- handed, because of a poor manuscript. The other main actors perform quite well, but that does not save the series, who will quickly fall into oblivion.

I stumbled upon this during a binge of channel 5 dramas and found it an easy, although sometimes frustrating watch. Jo Joyner is a great leading lady and her biggest quality is her likeability, she's like very one's mum/sister/friend. Where this falls a little short is how gullible she is for a lawyer, maybe that was the wrong career choice for the character. A few quibbles aside it's an easy watch with just enough surprises to keep you watching but it sits somewhere in the middle in terms of Channel 5 drama output. Curious about where it was filmed, not the UK I don't think? Again just a quibble.

A surprising winner.

Initially I thought - Oh no, the usual female psycho invades a nice woman's life and attempts to ruin her idyllic family, while we all wait to find out why. We have seen this type of story a thousand times before . . . !

But then it became more, much more. Layer upon layer was gradually revealed, leading to the end scenes. ( . . . I'm not going to activate a spoiler label by giving more details.)

It was so well edited that not one scene was too much or too little. Plus the miniseries didn't lump on us - joy of joys - the style-over-substance that I have seen in too many recent TV series. As for the script: again it was absolutely impeccable. Overall, the characters were believable: such a change from the oft-offered format of psychological thriller. Less melodrama and more realism.

And a key point: the roles were extremely well acted. I had just seen Jo Joyner in an alarmingly similar type of drama, set in Australia. So I feared she might be unable to avoid making this story as if by rote. But Joyner adeptly made this tale - and her character - her own. As for the actress who played the other protagonist, who was previously completely unknown to me, she was superb. And the husband was a well-rounded player, and not portrayed as the usual clichéd character. Some of this excellence might well be down to the way the characters were 'built' by the story writer, but as it worked, it worked. And as to the little girl playing Joyner's daughter, the role had a depth of believability that I haven't often seen in a child actress of her age.

The overall way the story was put together was top standard. I all too often find Channel 5's output of recent dramas dull & predictable - as if made on a shoestring budget and as if expected to be put straight to video. The style of their dramas is frequently hackneyed and lazily formed; almost made to a bad TV movie standard. So maybe I had little expectation of quality, meaning I had set the bar too low . . . But nonetheless I was pleased with the outcome. This was not one of those predictably mediocre outpourings. No disappointment this time.

So: a delightfully made series, and well worth the viewing time. Kudos to the production unit who put the various components together. As a team effort it was superb.

This had some potential to be decent, not great but decent. Two very strong and competent lead actresses and a plot that has probably been revisited frequently. The problem is that everything is so implausible and I mean everything. From the protagonist (Joyner) and her husband being unable to link the events that are turning her life upside down to her completely unconvincing forgiveness towards the antagonist (Shenton)was beyond far fetched. This is even more absurd when you learn that Joyner is portraying a lawyer. Every event leads to a more preposterous situation, and it makes one wonder if there was any testing of the script prior to filming. It just proves that even actors and actresses with a decent portfolio will do anything for a paycheque regardless of a risible outcome.

Another version of the psycho inserting themselves into somebody's life for some reason and putting them through hell for some reason whilst pretending to be their friend. Unrealistic, but still compelling watching. Camera work on close-ups is very wobbly and could make you nauseous. Performances are adequate, apart from when the teacher walk towards the villain as if she is going to kill her and then just asks her to pass something on to her friend; laughably bad. Where does this woman who is a nanny have the money to have Spa days, nights out, hotel breaks and never actually be working? Suspend logical thinking and you may enjoy it.