Alexander "Alec" Wilson was a dreamer, and he discovered writing as cathartic. A shell-shocked soldier from the Battle of the Somme in World War I, Alec maintained his sanity by escaping to the world of the imagination, especially during the Battle of Britain when he apparently began to write spy novels.
But the world of fiction carried over from the typewriter to reality in the four households he maintained in the postwar years. Four households, and an enormous brood who take a curtain call at the end of this miniseries!
The film was slow-paced, especially in Episode 2, where a careful balance between the flashbacks and the scenes in the present was not achieved. There was also a surprisingly cruel side to Alison in the way she confronted Dorothy about lying to her son about his wayward dad. Alison then proceeds to lie to her two boys in the same way.
In the final episode, the mood shifts between high drama and low comedy, culminating in poor Alison Wilson entering a nunnery! Perhaps the final straw was when a little street urchin named Douglas showed up on her doorstep, providing Alison with a glimpse into Alec's FOURTH family.
As relentless in pursuit of the truth about her lyin' husband as Javert was about Jean Valjean, Elizabeth finally comes to terms with her husband as a pathological liar. But the film never conclusively demonstrates whether Alec was a bona fide spy for the British government or merely a pathological liar and bigamist. Apparently, he was a combination of the three.
O cursèd progenitor!!!
But the world of fiction carried over from the typewriter to reality in the four households he maintained in the postwar years. Four households, and an enormous brood who take a curtain call at the end of this miniseries!
The film was slow-paced, especially in Episode 2, where a careful balance between the flashbacks and the scenes in the present was not achieved. There was also a surprisingly cruel side to Alison in the way she confronted Dorothy about lying to her son about his wayward dad. Alison then proceeds to lie to her two boys in the same way.
In the final episode, the mood shifts between high drama and low comedy, culminating in poor Alison Wilson entering a nunnery! Perhaps the final straw was when a little street urchin named Douglas showed up on her doorstep, providing Alison with a glimpse into Alec's FOURTH family.
As relentless in pursuit of the truth about her lyin' husband as Javert was about Jean Valjean, Elizabeth finally comes to terms with her husband as a pathological liar. But the film never conclusively demonstrates whether Alec was a bona fide spy for the British government or merely a pathological liar and bigamist. Apparently, he was a combination of the three.
O cursèd progenitor!!!