The Widower

I knew nothing about this case before watching The Widower. I found it to be compelling, yet appalling viewing. I found myself rooting actively for the victims, including speaking out loud to the second and third ones. I also found myself having very strong, visceral reactions to Webster which made me realize what a fantastic acting job Reese Shearsmith did. He was PERFECT, nailing the part of a man playing a victim himself, appealing to the empathic, care-taking natures of many women. Yes, he was charming, as Victim #2 says, and he was also smarmy. Even writing this I'm grimacing and feel like throwing something! One of the other reviews here complained that the TV version was not really like reality. Well, there often is a big difference between fiction and non-fiction. And, having read at least one article about what happened (Wikipedia) I realized that much had been left out, including Webster's involvement with several other women, and changed, for the sake of a dramatic thread in the show. I also learned that there is a book that the show was adapted from and I'd guess that anyone who wants true-to-life details should read it, including yours truly.

True life story which follows a mans hunger for greed ! Great acting & because it's a true story it'll leave you stunned at what lengths he will go to , to get what he wants .

So often these true crime dramas tend to start slow, try to set the scene, establish character and the mood.

Not so with The Widower. Sheridan Smith as Claire Webster marries Malcolm Webster (Reece Shearsmith) and is soon bumped off as she takes a close interest in her husband's financial affairs.

Malcolm is a charmer but also controlling and a killer who likes to drug people and start fires. He made Claire's death look like an accident. He collected on her life insurance and went off to New Zealand to start a new life and find his next prey. The life insurance money did not last long. However his second wife's family were eventually on to him and his nefarious plans against his second wife did not succeed.

Malcolm returned to Scotland and set his eyes on hospital administrator Simone Banarjee. By this time the police took a closer interest on Malcolm Webster.

The story was condensed. It was 14 years from his first marriage until the police got a warrant to investigate his house. Webster was also involved in other relationships and other deaths such as some children in a hospital in the middle east where he worked as a nurse that is glossed over.

However Shearsmith found it difficult to put over the charm because of how quickly the episodes moved. He just came across as too creepy especially as he talked to his drugged wives which was in effect a mechanism for internal narration.

However this a cautionary tale of a needy charmer, fantasist who can smell money from a mile off and is prepared to kill for it.

I've seen a documentary about the real life story, so I was interested to see how it was portrayed in a fictional series. They did well, obviously there were quite a few things different from the real story but the basic gist is there.

The main actor did a great job - he was perfectly creepy, frustrating, believable when talking himself out of situations and pathetic all at once.

The acting in general by everyone else was well done. I do wish they'd used actual New Zealand actors (or even aussies) as I could still hear the English accent from the actress, but she did do a good job at a hard accent! (I'm Australian).

Some parts were glossed over or rushed, but I enjoyed the show and 3 episodes is just enough for a mini series.

Like others, i was sceptical of predominantly dark comedian Reece Shearsmith being the lead and the series being taken seriously but as it progresses its a good fit because he excels at playing the mild, quiet, almost comical but extremely creepy characters which many serial killers are.

The only weakness is the actresses cast as the wives are a bit too attractive to seem a credible match for such a nerdish character, especially the last wife who also seems incredibly naive for a professional doctor and not delving deeper into his fraudulent cancer diagnosis as well as moving a complete stranger into her house against her boyfriend's wishes.