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.

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.

Brilliant performance from Juliet Stevenson in this tale of betrayal and revenge, also amazing work from Trevor Eve as the errant, conscienceless husband and embryo Prime Minister. Juliet as the wife could have forgiven and forgotten had it not been for the damning evidence given to her that she uses to feed her revenge. And this is revenge of the best kind. Not the clothes cutting, brick throwing revenge of a tempestuous hothead but a calculating scheme that hits the target where it hurts the most. She is aided in this from an unlikely source but also gains the help of others through guile and charm making them unwitting allies in her plan. And you are totally on her side. A triumphant experience.!!!

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.