SummaryIsraeli-British CEO Nessa Stein (Maggie Gyllenhaal) has steered her family's company away from being a suppliers of weapons for Israel into a charitable foundation. Soon after announcing a contract, the suspicious death of one of her Palestinian business associates brings interest from MI5's Sir Hugh Hayden-Hoyle (Stephen Rea).
SummaryIsraeli-British CEO Nessa Stein (Maggie Gyllenhaal) has steered her family's company away from being a suppliers of weapons for Israel into a charitable foundation. Soon after announcing a contract, the suspicious death of one of her Palestinian business associates brings interest from MI5's Sir Hugh Hayden-Hoyle (Stephen Rea).
Whatever your viewing regimen, Honorable Woman is highly recommended for its distinctive approach, bravura performances, overall digestibility and, yes, degree of difficulty.
The Honorable Woman is a slow-building but gripping story, regardless of where you stand on Mideast politics; Gyllenhaal delivers a remarkably measured and moving performance.
This is the type of show DVD collections were made for. And also for PVR'ing. Languid yet lush cinematography where nearly almost every scene is bathed in a type of eerie silence that seems coiled to burst with violence at almost any time. Dangerous relationships, secret passions and the unraveling of a mystery is perfect for "power watching" on DVD. In fact, recording is recommended as the tension is taut, and you may want to watch a scene over again as a single inaudible word might be the difference in following the plot portents or losing it. Plus some parts just demand to be seen again, with excellent camera work, luxurious lighting and dramatic scenery and flawed characters with secrets to maintain while trying to 'keep it all together' in the midst of crisis and remaining warm and human meaning they come across as human and real. One gets the feeling one is in the middle of a feature length film by the time the ending of each episode arrives with a crashing cymbal sound inducing halt. Enough to stoke you for the next episode. It is a very well done series. Original, mysterious and sexy. TV never had it so good until 'The Honorable Woman' arrived on scene.
By far my favorite show -- mini series, excuse me -- this season. Thoughtful, dense, complex plotting, fabulous acting, thoroughly enjoyable. Best thing on TV at the moment.
We can confirm that it boasts a string of crackerjack performances from the likes of Stephen Rea as a hangdog spy, Janet McTeer as his spook boss, Lubna Azabal as the housekeeper of Nessa's brother (Andrew Buchan), and Gyllenhaal herself. [25 Jul/1 Aug 2014, p.105]
Writer/director Hugo Blick skillfully walks the hairline between a well-paced adventure thriller and a psychological study that gives us enough time to appreciate the nuances of the character we're watching.
Although Blick's structural concept skirts close to mannered gimmickry, it also makes artistic sense. We are slowly but unavoidably drawn into the ever thickening mire of secrets, lies and shifting allegiances in both the lives of the characters and, of course, in the constant strife in the Middle East.
The Honorable Woman certainly doesn’t evoke any enmity. The problem, rather, is that it doesn’t provide enough thrills or momentum to completely reward the viewing commitment of its friends.
Faustian pacts, Shakespearean tradgedy and a Game of Thrones-sized cast of characters all wrapped in a conspiracy that will have the NSA reaching for their notebooks. You have to wonder at the horrible symmetry of the storyline and ongoing events in Gaza. I don't know how it will will twist and turn next but you can be sure the small man/woman probably won't come out on top. A classic in the making.
Maggie, as always, is lovely. And one of the world's best, Stephen Rea, seems well cast.
It seems to have everything, except:
1. Lighting for the scenes, and
2. A frikkin' PLOT
It works out to be leCarre on Seconal
I was TIVO-ing it to avoid Sundance's horrid **** find it best suited as an insomnia cure.
**** bet. Artsy....I guess. Pretentious....abso-foookin'- lootely.
But ****........
This is extreme pro-Israel propaganda, totally disconnected from the reality that the Israel is the perpetrator of an illegal, incredibly one-sided, murderous occupation in Palestine. It begins with the murder of the protagonist's father (a heroic "son of Israel") in front of his children. The callous, cold, clearly monsterous Palestinian murder then drops his weapon and raises his hand but is then shot anyway (never mind that he was no longer a threat).
The pilot is filled with endless scenes mourning the loss of the murdered father while the now adult protagonist is revealed to be an idealist philanthropist who is constantly under threat from evil Palestinian terrorists just for being Israeli. Palestinians are depicted as ruthless thugs or at best stupid.
The plot revolves around the heroic protagonist trying to bring peace by giving Internet access to the simple minded Palestinians. There's no mention of Palestinian telecoms, power and other utilities being routinely cut off by Israel, nor any reference to the fact that Israel has a policy of keeping all Palestinians on a diet (food is limited to ensure there is just enough to keep people alive but hungry). (If you don't believe this is the reality, just do a bit of research).
The videography is adequate though tired. The lead performance is ok and the Palestinian thugs are laughable. The pace is very slow indeed. It's as if the director has grand delusions of making a modern-day Tinker, Tailor, but this is nothing of the sort - it's just dull.
All in all the only reason to drag yourself through this familiar drivel is if you need to reaffirm your belief in the superiority of the west over the Palestinian dogs. A kind of Homeland for pretentious people.
Boring. That's the best word to describe this show. There's not much going on except a personal secret s involving the two main characters who are siblings. If you want to watch a show about cheating, affairs, lies, and illegitimate children that moves at a snails pace, here's your show. I made it through 6 hour long episodes of which there were probably 20 minutes worth of watchable material in total. Won't be surprised to see it cancelled.