Degree of Guilt

Just catching this now -- wasn't here when it aired. Of its time, of course. I haven't read the books -- but as I have mentioned in reviews for other book-to-screen adaptations, when you read a book, you are the director; when you watch an adaptation, you are watching someone else's direction of the same story. So, there will be something wanting, no matter what you do.

Storylines are intertwined quite smoothly. Mr. Elliott's performance as the smart, wealthy, capable attorney was as stellar as ever (and you can see glimpses of his future successes, in this performance). Ms. Zuniga had to play a character that seems at odds with itself every so often. There were times when I was scratching my head about that character's reactions to her circumstances. Ms. Kalember did a good job in both parts. Mr. Ventresca portrays the sleazy lawyer perfectly -- he inspires loathing right off the bat. The second storyline ends rather oddly, a little difficult to suspend disbelief, but hey, this is TV, not real life.

Ms. Whitman's Elena is the one wildcard in this mini-series. A good job by a very young performer, she was able to show different reactions a child might experience between warring parents wonderfully well.

You'll need to watch the two parts in sequence to get the overarching storyline. Enjoy!