Anatomy of a Scandal (2022)

Watchseries; With a laughable script, stilted dialogue and very poor direction this was always going to be hard going for some quite decent actors. The fact that most of them, in particular, Miller, made the most of the dreadful hand they were given is testament to their skill. A shoddy effort.

With a laughable script, stilted dialogue and very poor direction this was always going to be hard going for some quite decent actors. The fact that most of them, in particular, Miller, made the most of the dreadful hand they were given is testament to their skill. A shoddy effort.

Anatomy of a Scandal watchseries. It's engaging all throughout with unexpected twists at the middle and in the end. All the main actors are so convincing in their roles; the viewer feels he's right there where the action is.

There's this particular scene in the heat of the hearing where James is giving his testimony, and he and Kate appear in the scene and no one else. It gave the sense they were in deadly mortal combat and added to the dramatic flourish of the scene. And the viewer feels the suspense like what those in the courtroom could have felt while awaiting the jury's verdict. The scene is directed in such a way that the verdict could go either way. But watch out for the ending. It's the least of what you would have expected.

Sienna Miller, Rupert Friend and Michelle Dockery are splendid. I also praise Joselle Simon for her portrayal of the defense lawyer Angela Regan: deliberate and incisive.

I had read the reviews here prior to watching, and could not understand, up to just before the end of episode 4, why so many were negative. The acting is great (Sienna Miller and Joshua McGuire, in particular), the cinematography is effective and the dialogue engaging.

Then, I came to the "twist" in the plot, and my positive sense went abruptly and completely down the tubes. I get it--- there has to be some theatrical license and we have to accept contrivance in plots to be entertained. But, the professional ethical lapse breach--- and the many plot threads that flow from it--- that we are expected to swallow is joltingly ridiculous. Don't watch this.

Some big hitters (Michelle Dockery, Rupert Friend and Sienna Miller) star in a story of scandal, loyalty and arrogance.

It is a well-paced, non-linear narrative with decent dialogue and a mostly predictable cliff-hanger at the end of each episode. The cinematography is thoughtful, giving subtle orientation cues to the timeline such as focus, saturation and point-of-view. Some of the characters are over-painted and pressure the viewer to take a particular side which has a whiff of unnecessary polemic.

An entertaining essay on elitism and entitlement, but neither as intelligent nor sophisticated as it aspires to be.

Update: Watched the final three episodes, complete with ludicrous Deus ex Machina, making this a self-righteous polemical abomination - a narcissistic diatribe. I want my time back - do not waste yours!

This is mildly entertaining if you're mindlessly bored. I saw David Kelly's name all over it. I'd remove that if I were him. The flashbacks were so annoying and that confusion camera angle. No great acting here either.