Fake

Fake is entertaining and definitely had the binge factor to make me keep watching. I wanted to know how it ended and I enjoyed the switch to a different POV and the over all style of storytelling BUT...

1) The main character, Birdie, while really well acted by a talented actress, was just infuriating. Her stupidity and weakness became annoying and I know this is based on a true story, I know it really happened and romance scams happen all the time but I just thought any smart sensible woman would run a mile. Maybe it was because the romance scammer guy was played as a villain from the start. The actor was kind of creepy and so it was hard to believe she would be conned by him.

2) Otherwise first rate production values and performances were marred by the awful dreamlike repetitive sequences where lines were played over and over in voice over as Birdie's thoughts or memories. It felt like budget film school nonsense and really let down the production. It was used as a conceit way too many times.

I wasn't at all keen on the musical choices and why was the Tiger song used twice in different episodes? That felt like they couldn't afford another track. It was insanely annoying as was the Love Kitten track. Just poor musical choices and the sequence where Birdie danced to the latter was cringe.

7/10 is kind but I did binge it and I did enjoy it mostly aside from those few moments of terrible directing choices.

Can an entire show be foreshadowing? Can every single moment be foreshadowing? Can every single thing be framed entirely explicitly as foreshadowing? This show may be going for a world record or something, trying to make every single second, from the very opening shots, be Foreshadowing. Can a show that is entirely foreshadowing also feature the worst performances by two great actors, entirely miscast, with No chemistry, and the most unhappy and miserable sex scene in the history of everything?

Yes. Yes yes yes. All yes.

I have never not enjoyed Asher Keddie, before. I have always respected David Wenham, before. This is trash. I think the writer was trying to make herself look better at having Always Suspected Things, but it makes her a boring anxious character that you can't sympathise with who has No Arc. Crap.

The key to this working is a credible male lead ( in what is a difficult nuanced role to pull off convincingly). David Wenham didn't, at all. At almost 60 he is for a start too old, too crepey-skinned. His character was creepy, he was given a lizardy persona, unfortunately Joe was NOT what he must be.

Hot.

Who is craving to get in this creaky, rather plodding, aging, man's bed?

Apparently a whole slew of beautiful intelligent women, all taken in and enraptured to the point of slavish devotion . 60 emails with heart rending tales of seducer Joe!!!

Please. No.

None of us watching Joe were craving to be in bed with him either, btw (imagine here a shudder indicating skin crawling at the thought lol).

The writing was off for Joe, the character needed way more finesse in language, charisma, good looks, and sex appeal, delivered by an actor with compelling, utterly irresistible BDE, and way more sympathetic outside of the scene in the church where we see his pain. That was good, well done.

That first encounter at Atons bar ..."do you want to get out of here?" The look that is then exchanged between them as Joe agrees means, as every single adult watching knows, let's ***k. His sliding off into the night outside was the beginning of a mountain of sleight of hand by Joe's character that was absurdly clunky, as to be an insult to the intelligence.

Asher Keddie is terrific, she holds this together. Her character is far better written and presented than her counterpart, we are provided with sufficient context to see why this one woman with her history anxiety and pressures wanted so much for this to work. She was believable in a narrative where nothing else important was believable.

It's an easy reasonably engaging binge, but could have been so much more immersive, tantalising, heartrending.

A missed opportunity, should have been a 10.

Joe played a slimy creep with a sickening voice, but having come across two of these sort of characters in my time, his role was true to form. A Player of the highest Order. However, Denham really wasn't suited to the role at all. It needed someone less creepy and more 'dashing', thus to avoid the warning bells and red flags that someone like Birdie could be excused for not seeing and acting upon, therefore making it more realistic.

Birdie, Birdie, Birdie - when does stupid become more stupid? You were painful to watch and I wanted to throw my phone away, let alone yours.

All in all, too long and too much of Birdie feeling sorry for herself. I wish I hadn't wasted my time.

The production values on this series are good, the story gets you intrigued early on, mainly from the 'what's going on' perspective.

The obvious point that such an educated, successful, attractive woman is so lonely, is something you need to get over, plus the fact that she's so desperate to meet a man, she's prepared to drop all doubts and oddities associated with him, just to get him.

Once the odd behaviours grow the story slowly develops, behind lovely Australian backdrops and city scapes, the heroine's fears and questions pop up and she looks for answers, again why she's so determined to hang onto this man is a bit of a mystery.

Things I found annoying, the need to insert alcohol into many scenes, the fragility of the female character, the sinister male lead, the gay but oh so fun friends, everyone seems wealthy and in luxury, but often unhappy, all very typical of Australian shows, so typical you fight the impulse to fast forward occasionally to get on with the story, so at times it gets 'dull', you want it to develop and it doesn't.