Perfect cast and a good story

Admirable film.

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Watched the first two episodes and yes , lush sets and costumes but judged it full of stereo-types with pedestrian direction. Thought that I would 'give it a chance' for episodes 3 and 4. So glad I did. The pace and tension increased incrementally. As did the standard of the performances. Started to care about characters, even though some of the relationships portrayed are devices to show the changing state of society in Britain. It became electric, Really looking forward to the next 4 episodes

I liked this from the very beginning. The acting is great, the characters seem real and the story is interesting. An average English series beats anything on network TV. Thank God for the cable channels, Netflix, Amazon, and PBS. I think I watch one network show. The new ones always sound so good but most are complete duds about halfway through the first episode.

I basically agree with most of the reviews which deplore of the poor performances, the transgression of the true facts, the singing style not adequate to the 40s, the unbelievable situations along the plot.In my case, the two things that prevented me from staying with this show were Matt Ryan's performance and the predictable script. There is nothing more embarrassing or off-turning than thinking "Now this situation will go from here to there", and then, scene after scene, boringly confirm that every twist and turn of the script was so helplessly within the anticipated lines.And Matt Ryan-- his performance feels so phony with all the clichéd facial expressions, American-rogue looks and body language, trying so hard to infuse the show with a climax of heroism. I don't think the actors are bad. I think they are poorly directed and so there is no chemistry or magic, or genuine connection between them.It is a pity for I would have liked to see a fine show around a similar idea, but avoiding the common places and the deja-vus which exhaust The Halcyon out from the first two episodes.Brilliant wardrobe though, particularly those of the ladies.

This is supposed to be ITV's "replacement" for DOWNTON ABBEY, but it's an elaborate game of dress-up.That was a poor marketing ploy, because by comparison THE HALCYON is tarted-up run-of-the-mill soap. On its own, the show is fancy, sometimes fun, and often unbelievable. The writers have packed in as much trauma as possible -- every A and B-list character has something tearing at them.THe characters are written as graphs: no actual realization possible. Those in charge of the plot and characters seem to be making it up as they go along, because the characters don't arrive fully formed and ready for discovery. Back story details feel tacked on.It was believable that DOWNTON characters prized their positions and sacrificed a great deal. At THE HALCYON, a senior staffer is nearly axed, has had three precious days off in a decade, but decides to take off the day when a major social reception is booked. Not the day after, but the day of. Sorry, but that disservices the character and the story.