The Widower

I have been viewing this story as a TV mini-series here in New Zealand, where it made significant news due to relevant local connections.

Whilst I cannot fault the work of the principal actors/actresses in the story, I do feel that a number of liberties have been taken in its production, leading it somewhat askew from the details of the events as they actually occurred.

I refer here to the attempted murder of Ms. Drumm - Webster's second wife, in New Zealand, in 1999. From my recollection of the incident, the couple were driving in to the bank at which point Webster veered the car over two or three lanes of motorway before the car left the road as he pretended to be having a heart attack, not as the movie portrayed it, which involved parking up at a forest park where Webster was intending to torch the vehicle with Ms. Drumm inside.

A further anomaly here is the funds Webster misappropriated from Ms. Drumm's account. The story clearly portrayed the amount of funds in the account as $240,000, yet in historical news reports this is stated as $140,000.

I recall reading somewhere that some of the key witnesses were consulted prior to the making of this drama, so why did the production team find it so necessary to distort the facts in a case that will be remembered by so many for the events portrayed on-screen moreso than those given in the distantly remembered media coverage?

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.

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.

Malcolm Webster, found a formula for satisfying his craving for money, by doing away with his wives, based on a true story, this three part series tells the chilling story of Webster.

I think this is a terrific series, first time I have watched it since it first aired, and it's as impressive as I remember. It get better and better as it develops, the third episode was my favourite.

Some of the events are a little hard to believe, you will be left scratching your head, how on Earth did he get away with things for so long, but he did.

Excellent acting, Kate Fleetwood and Archie Panjabi are particularly good, but Shearsmith is outstanding, this is the best of him as far as I can see, he is so good.

Well worth watching. 9/10.