The Politician's Wife

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.

Juliet Stevenson is "The Politician's Wife" in this British three-part series that also stars Trevor Eve, Ian Bannen, and Minnie Driver. Written by Paula Milne, it's the story of a Flora Matlock married to a very ambitious man (Trevor Eve) in England's conservative party. She helps him by doing public speaking and handling requests from his constituents. They have two beautiful children, and her husband is on his way up. Then a scandal breaks -- he's had an affair with a young woman (Minnie Driver) who was working in the government as a researcher.

Flora is devastated. Her husband begs her to stay with him, swearing it was a one-night stand, never happened before and will never happen again. For the moment, she stays. Then someone leaves her some cassette tapes and she finds out that this was hardly a one-night stand - it was a full blown, wildly sexual affair that went on for almost a year, and everyone, including her father, also in the party, knew it. To the surprise of the associate of her husband's who left her the tapes, Flora still stands by her man...sort of.

This is a fantastic story of a woman who learns her own power and worth as she watches her husband manipulate her, his associates, and his constituents. Juliet Stevenson is marvelous - at first, she's an attractive but not particularly glamorous woman -- as she gains self-esteem she becomes very stylish and confident in her look. Trevor Eve as her husband gives a great performance as well as an unlikeable man who is obsessed with his career.

Totally worth seeing.

In some respects, this is a "chick flick" -- betrayed wife gets even, but without pandering or being excessive. Yet this is a true intellectual pleasure, for her revenge is calculated, deep, and very adult; the politician's wife manipulates the political caste with the most delicate and appropriate word in the proper ear. A perfect movie for those who have little tolerance for the stupid or shallow, a most enjoyable view. I will be first in line when it comes out on DVD.

Watching this miniseries, you might think it's a thinly veiled version of the Lewinsky scandal, but they made this British miniseries several years before the scandal broke. (I saw it when it was first aired on PBS here in Los Angeles and I kept having strange flashbacks to it throughout the impeachment hearings.) Not only do you have the blonde scorned wife (Juliet Stevenson -- amazing!) and the young brunette political intern (Minnie Driver), but it all unravels due to the lies that the politician tells his wife. The first half is her finding out exactly what's going on, and the second half is her Machiavellian revenge.

A brilliant performance by Juliet Stevenson is one of the highlights of this mini-series that studies the how to do "don't get mad get even" in British politics. How a scorned wife gets even with her husband SHOULD be a cliche, but a great script and good performances from all (incl. a small but pivotal role for Minnie Driver), moves it far away from cliche.