For Her Sins

A surprising winner.

Initially I thought - Oh no, the usual female psycho invades a nice woman's life and attempts to ruin her idyllic family, while we all wait to find out why. We have seen this type of story a thousand times before . . . !

But then it became more, much more. Layer upon layer was gradually revealed, leading to the end scenes. ( . . . I'm not going to activate a spoiler label by giving more details.)

It was so well edited that not one scene was too much or too little. Plus the miniseries didn't lump on us - joy of joys - the style-over-substance that I have seen in too many recent TV series. As for the script: again it was absolutely impeccable. Overall, the characters were believable: such a change from the oft-offered format of psychological thriller. Less melodrama and more realism.

And a key point: the roles were extremely well acted. I had just seen Jo Joyner in an alarmingly similar type of drama, set in Australia. So I feared she might be unable to avoid making this story as if by rote. But Joyner adeptly made this tale - and her character - her own. As for the actress who played the other protagonist, who was previously completely unknown to me, she was superb. And the husband was a well-rounded player, and not portrayed as the usual clichéd character. Some of this excellence might well be down to the way the characters were 'built' by the story writer, but as it worked, it worked. And as to the little girl playing Joyner's daughter, the role had a depth of believability that I haven't often seen in a child actress of her age.

The overall way the story was put together was top standard. I all too often find Channel 5's output of recent dramas dull & predictable - as if made on a shoestring budget and as if expected to be put straight to video. The style of their dramas is frequently hackneyed and lazily formed; almost made to a bad TV movie standard. So maybe I had little expectation of quality, meaning I had set the bar too low . . . But nonetheless I was pleased with the outcome. This was not one of those predictably mediocre outpourings. No disappointment this time.

So: a delightfully made series, and well worth the viewing time. Kudos to the production unit who put the various components together. As a team effort it was superb.

Laura's perfect life begins to spiral out of control when she befriends mum at The School Emily. Laura hides a dark secret, and Emily is keen for it to come out, regardless of who gets hurt in the process.

Ok, so it's not a perfect show, but it's very watchable, and in terms of The Channel Five drama scale, I'd put it somewhere in the middle. Well produced, better than some of the boring dramas on recently, and easy to follow, it's got a fairly straightforward plot, you won't be scratching your head trying to piece together intricate threads, it isn't like that.

This needed to be edited down to three episodes, over four it was stretched out a little too thinly, episode three lacked a little bit of content.

I really enjoyed the first two episodes, I do feel that it flagged a bit after that, at times you so question is wandering around with her eyes shut.

I thought that the acting was spot on, I adore Jo Joyner, and she did a cracking job, great to see her leading a series again, she is so good. Rachel Shenton was brilliant as Emily, perfect for the part, she kept reminding me of Cheryl Cole, but with acting talent.

Anne Mitchell and Jo Joyner are no strangers to eachother, they've played mother and daughter once before, namely on EastEnders.

6/10.

This had some potential to be decent, not great but decent. Two very strong and competent lead actresses and a plot that has probably been revisited frequently. The problem is that everything is so implausible and I mean everything. From the protagonist (Joyner) and her husband being unable to link the events that are turning her life upside down to her completely unconvincing forgiveness towards the antagonist (Shenton)was beyond far fetched. This is even more absurd when you learn that Joyner is portraying a lawyer. Every event leads to a more preposterous situation, and it makes one wonder if there was any testing of the script prior to filming. It just proves that even actors and actresses with a decent portfolio will do anything for a paycheque regardless of a risible outcome.

If you're after an easy to watch psychological thriller miniseries that keeps you watching but isn't too disturbing, this fits the bill just fine. Some decent acting by the two female leads Jo Joyner (Laura) and Rachel Shenton (Emily), and an impressive performance by Laura's little daughter Eliza (Romi Hyland- Rylands). Duncan Pow also does a good job being the reliable husband who you feel a soft spot for. A basic enough premise, but based in a familiar cosy setting.

However, there are some basic plot flaws which make make whole thing a little unbelievable. For example, it's highly unlikely a child's life would be ruined completely by the historical events in this movie. As such, the extreme measures taken by Laura and her mother back in the day seem a bit ridiculous.

Nonetheless, this show packs a nice compact 4 episodes which are decent enough. Maybe it's not a must see, but it's an enjoyable ride.

I stumbled upon this during a binge of channel 5 dramas and found it an easy, although sometimes frustrating watch. Jo Joyner is a great leading lady and her biggest quality is her likeability, she's like very one's mum/sister/friend. Where this falls a little short is how gullible she is for a lawyer, maybe that was the wrong career choice for the character. A few quibbles aside it's an easy watch with just enough surprises to keep you watching but it sits somewhere in the middle in terms of Channel 5 drama output. Curious about where it was filmed, not the UK I don't think? Again just a quibble.