Thanks for the memories!

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Blistering performances.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Persevered and managed to get through it but my God it was hard going. The American actress who played Nessa was dreadful, monotone and wooden, she showed no emotion except bursting into tears in virtually every episode. The actress who played the Palestinian was so hard to understand , we had to keep rewinding to try and catch what she was saying. It might be authentic to use foreign actresses but it would be nice if they spoke clearly and it doesn't help that they speak in a half whisper. The plot was good although made way too complicated and long.The 'Nessa' character just seemed to be too tolerant and good to be true after all she went through, it just seemed unrealistic.

I recorded most of this series some time back and only just watched the last few episodes. The reason for the time gap was that halfway through I found it to be confusing and very heavy going and wasn't sure if I wanted to continue. In retrospect I realise that I could have said this of anything by Le Carre or Gerald Seymour - these types of dramas are never straightforward. In the class of the best of this genre, this series left us guessing right up to the end who was trustworthy and who was there simply to serve their own ends. The answer turned out to be nobody and yet everyone. Brilliant acting by Maggie Gyllenhaal deserves all possible accolades, with superb assistance by the supporting cast. Except for the fact that it tended to drag somewhat in the middle, this is one of the best examples I have ever seen of an attempt to view the Arab/Israeli situation from the point of view of both sides.

The Honourable Woman is a 2014 British political–spy thriller television miniseries in eight parts, directed and written by Hugo Blick for the BBC and SundanceTV. Featuring Maggie Gyllenhaal in the title role. Eight years after taking over the family company from her brother, Anglo-Israeli businesswoman Nessa Stein is made a life peer for her continued commitment to the Middle East peace process. When her new business partner dies in an apparent suicide, she is forced to delay the third phase of an ambitious and long-standing project: connecting the West Bank with optical fiber cables. Then Kasim, the son of a close friend of Nessa's, is kidnapped and bad memories are brought back.

Nessa Stein (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is trying to use her family's business to construct a telecommunication connection to the Palestinian territories. She has high ideals promoting a policy of reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. Part of that is to seek out a Palestinian partner for the venture. Her father's killing in front of her is still a major pain for her and her brother. However, she is hiding a secret from 8 years ago when she ventured into the Gaza Strip. It is secrets upon secrets as world politics and personal struggles collide.The first thing about this series is that it is well written. It is not just what's on the surface. Everybody has a secret. It is an intricate web of lies and double-cross. There is no need to spoil anything. Gyllenhaal gives a very solid performance as do so many of the actors. This is simply smart television. I'm fine with a limited series because it allows for more intense storytelling.