Purely Joyful Movie!

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

I saw this "picture" (you look like a picture) and experienced it as horror or must I say "ghast"? I wrote to the BBC that there seems nothing more fascinating then to witness insanity. I never got an answer. The problem is: Why must this kind of amusement be made public? Is it disdain? Regards.

Being one of Thatcher's children myself, whose working life began with the start of her premiership, I found this a fascinatingly photogenic look at this era. I don't remember the time as quite so pretty, but I do remember the disparity between the rich and the poor, which I think is part of the intention here. I enjoyed the acting, but at the beginning found Paul too annoying and unsympathetic as a character, but I warmed to him by the end, especially as Damian Lewis portrays his hippy phase beautifully. Jodhi May was also excellent. I recognised the big company ethos; consultants, dot-com boom, out with the old and thought that was very legitimate- think Marconi, fellow Brits- living down the road from its Head Office I did rather cringe as the big beast was destroyed. All in all I feel this was a rewarding piece to watch and definitely worthy of further study, so have bought the DVD!

This piece seems to have divided the audience and critics. We have seen and heard more negative reviews than positive ones.We thought it was a very interesting and enjoyable piece. As so often with Poliakoff, he creates characters who don't behave as you expect them to. They infuriate and they surprise you.In this epic piece, spanning some 20 years (early eighties to early naughties)Poliakoff examines themes of business, friendships and survival in a fast-changing world. Crocodiles are an interesting metaphor for survival and coping with change/trauma. So are friends, both the loyal and the relatively fair-weather variety. Both types are on display here.Drama about business is usually horribly infuriating because the playwright has little or no insight into how business really works. Similarly technology. Poliakoff understands business and technology far better than most writers. Of course the piece simplifies and takes positions on these issues - who wants a 20 parter on such subjects - but the piece works excellently well as a sub 2 hour film for TV.Several critics said that they "just don't get it" with this piece. I feel sorry for them if that is really the case. Perhaps most critics, like most writers, have little understanding of business and/or technology.The acting is excellent - Damien Lewis (everywhere these days) and Jodhi May predictably good. A few cameos for old favourites too.The cinematography is just stunning - Poliakoff is probably now at the very top of his game in this aspect of his work.It's big canvas stuff, it is truly beautiful to look at and it leaves you plenty to think about and talk about afterwards.We need more of this quality of stuff on TV and cinema please!! And this piece will last. Some of those who "don't get it" just now will, in a few years time, be hailing it as a classic and repeating it for decades to come. It's that sort of piece.

This is most definitely one of the most affecting dramas I have seen in the past year, both casting and the expertise of the setting and prop crew were flawless. Honestly, I might be credulous, but the intended chronology of the film was exceptionally convincing, it did to an extent make me wish that more detail had been shown about the in-between periods that the narration had passed by, the characters were so intense that I felt pulled in by their stories and anything could have been relevant. It goes without saying that as a fan of Jodhi May as well as of the creator, I had been looking forward to this for some time and there was no disappointment apart from what I already mentioned. On the whole there's more in the way of emotional turbulence than joyful interludes, but the overall message is delightful and has effected me profoundly. My thanks to all involved.