As fan of David Tennant's and Emily Watson's work I couldn't pass on the opportunity to watch this miniseries. In a way it reminded me of Secret State, but it was less flamboyant while being a lot more visceral. This is the story of a successful politician who gambles on his way to power. He loses, allowing his wife, until then staying in his shadow, and his backstabbing friend to rise to the top of the political hierarchy. As a result he cannot stop plotting to get himself back to where he has fallen from, only losing everything else on the way up.
A nice cautionary tale, a criticism of the political system in Britain (and everywhere else, really) and brilliant acting. The problem with the story, though, was that one could not sympathize with any of the characters. David Tennant's interpretation of an obsessive politician is brilliant, but who can really identify with it other than the psychopaths that enter politics in the first place?
Bottom line: a good movie, but at one moment I couldn't wait for it to be over and the finale was not really something that inspired me.