Honestly. I cannot understand the reviewers who are raving about Kate's "stellar" performance in The Widow. I binge-watched the entire series and all throughout I found myself cringing cringing cringing at Kate's 1/8" thick foundation makeup and truly ghastly botox job.
At times, her forehead was freakishly squinched up------ but only at the far ends of her eyebrows. It made it impossible for me to follow the dialogue. All I could think was: "Did she watch this and wonder what the bloody hell happened to her real face?"
Harsh? Yeah, I guess. But cringing at Kate wasn't the only critical response I had to some of the scenes.
Along with a previous reviewer, I found myself wondering how anyone could be in Africa and never ever see a single wild animal. Not even a duck or any other bird. I don't even remember seeing any stray dogs or cats. How does that happen? Did the militia kill off everything animal?
Then the back and forth "Here we are now" and next "Oops. Hope you can keep up with these countless flashbacks" zip-zap-zoiks had my head spinning. Towards the end of the series, Kate is in Kinshasa and then, whiplash!, she's all bundled up and prancing around the frosty wilds of Wales, in search of a "Sheepdog." Since when is a Border collie called a "Sheepdog?" Maybe that's a Welsh thing?
On a positive note: I loved the cast. I always love watching Charles Dance. And that big teddy bear of an Icelandic dude. He's awesome. The actors, apart from Kate (and sometimes even Alex Kingston was a bit too over-the-top in her scenes)--------were all fascinatingly wonderful to watch. (This really made Kate's scenes even more painful to watch. When all the rest of the cast is pulling their weight and their acting is spot-on . . . then you can't really blame an off-putting performance on bad directing, now can you?)
Some of the scenery was delightful. You get a real sense of what it's like in some parts of the DRC and even a bit of Wales. At other times, things seemed constrained when so many of the scenes were filmed in this house or that house or at the same locations over and over. It got so it was a relief to see people slushing around in the red mud of the mining operation.
My one big question is, and I guess it's my fault that I must have blinked during a flashback and missed the info on this one: Who the heck was the blonde housewife cleaning and cleaning in General Azikiwe's kitchen? Were we supposed to know that he killed some white lady to take possession over her palacial home? I didn't get the memo, it seems.
Overall, I think it was fun to watch this series. It does have a few scary moments and several times you might even jump a bit, too. I liked that. Just be prepared to roll your eyes at some serious plot holes. And, if you're like me, be prepared to feel sorry for Kate that, thanks to her cosmetic surgery and/or super duper foolhardy mess of botox injections, she has almost completely lost the ability to change her facial expressions to any measureable extent. Poor thing.
At times, her forehead was freakishly squinched up------ but only at the far ends of her eyebrows. It made it impossible for me to follow the dialogue. All I could think was: "Did she watch this and wonder what the bloody hell happened to her real face?"
Harsh? Yeah, I guess. But cringing at Kate wasn't the only critical response I had to some of the scenes.
Along with a previous reviewer, I found myself wondering how anyone could be in Africa and never ever see a single wild animal. Not even a duck or any other bird. I don't even remember seeing any stray dogs or cats. How does that happen? Did the militia kill off everything animal?
Then the back and forth "Here we are now" and next "Oops. Hope you can keep up with these countless flashbacks" zip-zap-zoiks had my head spinning. Towards the end of the series, Kate is in Kinshasa and then, whiplash!, she's all bundled up and prancing around the frosty wilds of Wales, in search of a "Sheepdog." Since when is a Border collie called a "Sheepdog?" Maybe that's a Welsh thing?
On a positive note: I loved the cast. I always love watching Charles Dance. And that big teddy bear of an Icelandic dude. He's awesome. The actors, apart from Kate (and sometimes even Alex Kingston was a bit too over-the-top in her scenes)--------were all fascinatingly wonderful to watch. (This really made Kate's scenes even more painful to watch. When all the rest of the cast is pulling their weight and their acting is spot-on . . . then you can't really blame an off-putting performance on bad directing, now can you?)
Some of the scenery was delightful. You get a real sense of what it's like in some parts of the DRC and even a bit of Wales. At other times, things seemed constrained when so many of the scenes were filmed in this house or that house or at the same locations over and over. It got so it was a relief to see people slushing around in the red mud of the mining operation.
My one big question is, and I guess it's my fault that I must have blinked during a flashback and missed the info on this one: Who the heck was the blonde housewife cleaning and cleaning in General Azikiwe's kitchen? Were we supposed to know that he killed some white lady to take possession over her palacial home? I didn't get the memo, it seems.
Overall, I think it was fun to watch this series. It does have a few scary moments and several times you might even jump a bit, too. I liked that. Just be prepared to roll your eyes at some serious plot holes. And, if you're like me, be prepared to feel sorry for Kate that, thanks to her cosmetic surgery and/or super duper foolhardy mess of botox injections, she has almost completely lost the ability to change her facial expressions to any measureable extent. Poor thing.