Reading some of the other opinions on 'The Politician's Wife' leads me to suspect that United States TV viewers are somewhat starved of quality drama. I watched this show for the third time on Cable TV in Australia where it seems we are rather luckier.
And what exceptional entertainment it is. 'The Politician's Wife' could almost have been made as a documentary during the dying days of the John Major Conservative Government in Britain in the mid-nineties when several cabinet ministers were exposed by the tabloid press as having extra-marital affairs. Which is the beginning of the storyline here.
'The Politician's Wife' is a tale of revenge as a dish taken cold with Juliet Stevenson as the wronged spouse under pressure from all sides including her patrician father (Frederick Treves) to forgive her errant husband, an all-stops-out performance of hypocrisy and venality from Trevor Eve. He is a grammar school boy on the make who has married into the upper echelons of the Tory Party. There's usually an element of class in these English dramas!
Interesting to see Minnie Driver in the small but pivotal role as the mistress. Minnie was a quite sturdy young woman then; but in common with many other actresses of her generation she has been disappearing in an alarming fashion ever since.
A special mention for the wonderful Juliet Stevenson who seems a little mousy in the early scenes, especially by comparison with the stylish Minnie, but Juliet's radiant beauty shines out as the story unfolds and she starts to move beyond her humiliation to seek vengeance.
Thoroughly recommended.
