'Apple Tree Yard' is far from perfect. But Emily Watson as the story's protagonist Yvonne is as close to perfect in that role as one could imagine. And, trust me, she alone is reason enough to watch this four episode drama. Perhaps it is her face, specifically her doleful eyes, but we care about Yvonne. We want the best for her. And we will not stop watching until the series' final moment.
Or final second. Because this film asks that you do just that. Stay with it right up to the final credits.
Yvonne is a brilliant scientist who has an affair with a British Civil Servant (Ben Chaplin). She is married to a seemingly wonderful man but the affair - sex with a stranger, sex in public spaces - is so thrilling, she cannot quit it. But soon enough she is the victim of an event that causes her to re-evaluate her life, in full. Yvonne makes choices that not each of us would make. Even so, we can understand how someone might make those decisions; they are not uncommon.
There is one major problem with the plot. And without giving anything away, that problem is this. Yvonne keeps her affair a secret. From her friends and family. That we understand. But when she keeps it a secret from those whose mission it is to help her, that, for me, was a problem. And a big one.
Ben Chaplin is appropriately creepy as her secret lover. But the film belongs to Ms. Watson. And Ms. Watson delivers.
