Affinity

Affinity was the television low point of Christmas 2008. It seemed to have been thrown together at the last minute, with jarring editing, terrible sound balances, and a script that seemed to have been put together by a cliché-filled computer. Everything seemed wrong - the men's facial hair, the extras' wooden street-walking, the dreadful music, the sheer repetitiveness (we turned it into a drinking game: one finger for 'walks nervously through prison gates', two fingers for 'walks nervously into cell'; we all got very drunk.) I loathe wobbly-cam shots, trying to watch characters as they bounce around the screen in a haphazard fashion, but occasionally, it can be bearable - Bourne, for instance. 'Affinity' was not the place for wobbly-cams, especially when they are mixed - seemingly at random - with steady shots. I hate to ask it, because he is supposed to have TV's Midas Touch, but is Andrew Davies entering 'Emperor's New Clothes' territory?

Having just read the book, I was really looking forward to the film adaptation.

What a disappointment. The film felt extremely rushed, with no development of the characters. I did not for one minute believe the "affinity" between Selena and Margaret and so, consequently, felt nothing about the ending. Which did NOT do justice to the book. More time should have been spent showing the relationship between Margaret and her family members, for instance. And more emphasis on Selena's previous life and Peter Quick. And, lastly, more about that awful prison and what the women had to endure.

Read the book if you want "the real deal" and to be suspended in excitement, suspense and terrific writing!

I decided to stay up and watch Affinity due to being " a gripping dramatisation" and "full of feints and foreboding" as promised by this weeks RadioTimes Magazine....I can say without hesitation that I was not disappointed.

The story was powerful and full of human emotion. I felt that Zoe Tapper who plays the women's prison inmate/spiritualist Selina Dawes and Anna Madeley as upper-class lady Magaret who together form a bond of strange depths are absolutely fantastic as their characters. Full of emotion, foreboding and uncertainty until the very end. Nothing can prepare you for the final twist.

I have never read the book unlike the previous reviewer and to be honest I am not sure I am going to now because I would not want it to change the impression I was left with following the film....so powerful I dreamt of it the same night.

Watch it or you really are missing out.

Richard

I read the novel first, and was so glued to it that i got through it in the matter of a weekend. when i went to see the film i was not expecting to be as impressed as i was through reading it, but this adaptation is as magical as the novel and did it the justice it deserved. it is they type of film that can be watched time and time again without losing its appeal. i would recommend it to anyone, regardless of whether they like period dramas or not, because it is not the average period drama - it is a film that transcends time, and will reach some part of every person. personally i would go and watch it innumerable times if i could, and cannot wait for the release of the DVD.

I am very disappointed that there where a lot of very low ratings for this movie by a good number of people.

Personally I found that the movie was very captivating, and it made me want to understand better what was exactly happening all along.

The costumes where marvelous, and the twist at the end (although I expected something similar, because it almost always happens in these kind of movies) was very good.

It is a very good drama, however only for people that know how to appreciate it. People who like a lot of action, and not understanding will not appreciate it as much.