I quite agree. I had read some reviews of the program that made me wary, but I thought the acting was top notch. I've also followed Dominic Cooper's career a bit so this was an interesting change for him, but he handled it beautifully. He was completely revolting. Well done, Dominic! Haha. It wasn't just Dominic, though, all the actors were brilliant. Anna Maxwell Martin had some amazing scenes. The scene between Dominic and Anna comes to mind when her husband popped out to get some papers. It was played out so well that they created such an uncomfortable moment it had me cringing! And who couldn't feel for Joseph Mawle's character. Brilliant all around.
But I must say it was Aidan Gillan's acting that really captivated me. I loved him in Queer as Folk and didn't see the Wire (though now I might have to!) so I was excited to see him in this. He managed to make me feel empathetic toward such an unlovable character and I felt that his storyline was the most heartbreaking of the three. Someone said they were more likely to jump if they were in Jim's position rather than Gus, but I have to disagree. Jim is in a very bad position, no doubt, but after everything that went down, he still had a family that loved him and would help him through the mess they were in. Gus might have had financial stability, but he isolated so many people in his life for his career that his career was literally all he had. I mean, the coldness of his daughter was proof of that when he was crying in the restaurant. That's just sad. The most heartbreaking thing, I thought, was that even after he realized this he didn't have the courage to try to change it. He just gave up, something we know he would never do were it a business transaction. I was really hoping that he could have pulled himself together in the end. Alas.
People can say what they will about the program as a whole, but I don't think they can deny that the acting was brilliant.
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