388. Web-series Reviews – 203

More web-series reviews…

Freedom at Midnight – Came in 2024.  Is the electrifying story of India's struggle for independence. Based on the bestselling book of the same name, it recounts the partition of India and Pakistan, and the religious and socio-political dynamics of the era.

A review from IMDB...

What if Jinha's health condition was known to all???? Nice adaption of a great book by my fav authors duo...

"Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot that it do singe yourself."

Freedom at Midnight is a series based on Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre's gigantic bestseller of the same name. Given the piercingly researched, strikingly visual source-material, it was always meant to be. Collins and Lapierre finished the book in 1975, just 25 years after India gained independence.

Starting in the early 1970s, the authors had unprecedented personal access to Lord Mountbatten, who was a fan of their book "Is Paris Burning?". They also accessed Jinnah's X-ray, which proved that so-called Quaid-e-Azam knew he suffered from advanced stage tuberculosis and that he wouldn't survive long - maximum a year or so!! Mountbatten told Lapierre-Collins that if he knew this, he would have delayed the decision on partition, which would have then changed the course of sub-continent's history.

Nikhil Advani, the creator of the series, says he chose to focus on events leading up to India's independence. However, Freedom at Midnight is a difficult show to make, as it is about history and politics and relies heavily on verbose conversations, meetings, debates, speeches, decisions, exposition, heavy dialogues and individual's perception.

The series features impressive performances, particularly from Chirag Vohra as Gandhi and Rajendra Chawla as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Vohra delivers a physically canny rendition of Gandhi, while Chawla nails the Gujarati twang and injects Patel's shrewdness with pangs of paternal sincerity.

It's worth noting that the book "Freedom at Midnight" has been adapted into various forms, including a TV series in 1988 and a movie Gandhi with Ben Kingsley directed by Richard Attenborough. While the movie focuses primarily on Gandhi's life and role in India's struggle for independence, this TV series takes a broader approach, covering the final years of British rule in India and the events leading up to independence. This series is more of a historic epic with more emphasis on political and social upheavals of the time. It manages to capture the essence of the time period.

I have a personal connection with this book having read it during my college days. It was one of the first books (first book being The Good Earth) in English literature that I read and it left an everlasting impression on me. Even today, it gives me goosebumps to think about the horrifying incidents written by the authors, particularly the riots that started in Punjab.

After reading "Freedom at Midnight", I became a huge fan of the author duo and went on to read their other books in a marathon session. I devoured "Is Paris Burning?", "O Jerusalem", "City of Joy" and "Fall from Grace", among others. I owe a debt of gratitude to my dear friend Chetan Desai who introduced me not only to Collins and Lapierre but also to other renowned authors like Leon Uris, Somerset Maugham, Ayn Rand, Hermann Hesse and more. He also sparked my interest in English literature that has been a lifelong passion since then.

While the series may be challenging to follow at times due to its focus on politics and history, it is undoubtedly a must-watch for anyone interested in last days of British Raj and dawn of India's freedom. The ability of this series to balance individual perspectives with historical events makes it a unique and engaging viewing experience.

Overall, Freedom at Midnight is a gripping and informative series that sheds light on a pivotal moment in Indian history. I do however recommend reading the book.

My Take – An excellent series!

 

Cross – Came in 2024. Series adaptation of James Patterson novels about the complicated and brilliant detective, Alex Cross.

A review from IMDB...

I will start by saying I didn't read the books, but after these other reviews I feel like I should.

What I loved about this series is the pace and the cat and mouse game. It kept me glued and wanting more! The acting was fantastic by all characters including the kids. I loved the relationships between all the characters - to me that was the strongest part of this series. To those reviews who are putting down race as a discussion in this show - saying it's misplaced or distracting, you need to do better to understand what is going on in communities that you are not a part of.

What I'm disappointed in is the writing. Feel like this happens a lot in movies or series adapted from books. There were too many subplots that all competed for space. Normally I love cop series that have one overarching story that doesn't wrap until the end and then substories in each episode. This series had at least 3 main stories that all wrapped in the final episode and therefore none of them felt like they had enough time. I wish the writers had only focused on the serial killer. I feel like I can normally follow and figure things out quickly but the subplot of some random case with someone called Dierdre and how this related to his wife just confused me. We spent so much of the first part of the series on the serial killer and then the last episode had this plot wrapped up in what felt like five minutes with a very unbelievable outcome. It was extremely disappointing and insulting to the viewer and the main Cross character. Instead, the last episode spent so much time on solving his wife's murder with connections that were almost ridiculous. I completely had forgotten who the heck this Deirdre person was, so didn't understand her avengers' motives. It just felt very rushed and slapped together. Sometimes less is more, and in this case I wish it was.

It also made me mad that the police chief never apologized to Cross or admitted she was wrong. Her character was ridiculously political and outright dumb. I'm sad to see a female boss represented in this way.

I do hope there is another one because it was really interesting - hopefully next time they won't try to do too much and give one or two things more depth and time.

My Take – I did not like the lead cast. But completed the season.  Books were much better😊!

 

In Cold Water: The Shelter Bay Mystery – Came in 2024. The riveting and chilling true crime docuseries tells the story of small-town Canadian school teacher Laura Letts-Beckett and former city councillor in New Zealander Peter Beckett, and the drowning death of Laura one sunny day in 2008 on a lake in the wilderness of British Columbia, Canada. Was it a tragic accident, as Peter claims - or was her death a pre-mediated murder by a cold-blooded husband, as the police and prosecution assert?

A review from IMDB...

People are often their worst enemies through their behavioral traits. This will come into play after the rocky reconciliation of Peter and Laura's marriage comes to an end with Laura's drowning. There were suspicions from the beginning of the police investigation foddered by the mysterious drowning. These suspicions got more traction by the strong feelings of Laura's relatives statements and entries in Laura's diary. Add some further questions regarding life insurance policies and Peter becomes the subject of an investigation which was covert initially. There was a definite thrust building to charge Peter eventually resulting in his arrest and conviction.

The Canadian RMPC felt they got their man. Even so there was only circumstantial evidence that might allow for an appeal and further inspection. These things definitely add more mystery to an already mysterious death and subsequent murder sentence. There are some interesting elements not the least of which was Peter refusing to make bail which was set at a level he was able to pay. Peter claiming total innocence was adamant in his refusal to pay bail for a crime he didn't commit. While incarcerated Peter supposedly a cell mate who would be released to do some work in his service. Bad things such as to kill some of the prosecution's key witnesses that were also family members of Laura in addition to a few others. The prosecution would lean into this jailhouse informant's incendiary claims of Peter's desire to hire his services. As problematic as these kind of witnesses can be that was felt to be solid thus manageable by prosecutors.

There we have it. A kind of unsolvable mystery. Oh, I guess one might say it was solved and unsolved over the course of several trials the last of which resulted in a most definite verdict which proved faulty thus three years hence was overturned with prejudice toward future retrials. Seemingly a ragged rollercoaster ride of flawed prosecution practices which have likely tainted any future final solution that is irrefutable enough to term legally solid. A real true life enigma within a riddle if you like as the layers of the onion were peeled back for only more questions. This makes for a riveting ride. One likely to forever be caught in the grey area between an accident and a crime. A case that just as many viewers may side on either count with no closure. Definitely worth a watch.

My Take – Worth a watch!

Adios till next time😊!!