There may be a
brilliant storyline somewhere buried in “The Honorable Woman.” It’s just a
shame that the writers didn’t feel the need to accommodate the audience in
understanding what is going on until it is nearly finished. While this may work
for a film which audiences are invested in once they buy the ticket and sit in
the darkened theater, but an 8-episode television series provides too many
opportunities to jump ship before revelations make the narrative comprehensible,
much less enjoyable.
The narrative
focuses on Nessa Stein (Maggie Gyllenhaal), the daughter of a notorious Israeli
arms dealer who finds herself in the middle of an international drama when she
continues an effort to promote reconciliation between Israelis and
Palestinians. Although the narrative begins with a flashback of Nessa
witnessing the public assassination of her father alongside her brother, Ephra,
the drama really begins with the kidnapping of her brother’s nanny’s son. The
reasons for this kidnapping are unclear, as is the motivations of nearly every
character we are introduced to for the first six out of the eight episodes.
I couldn’t even
describe the plot further if I wanted to, mostly because of how intentionally
vague it remains for an extended amount of the material. I have to assume that
this was intentional, but it does little to draw the audience in. Perhaps the
most difficult aspect of the narrative is the reserved manner with which the
characters are treated and revealed. Gyllenhaal does an impressive job with the
accent and with conveying the emotions, but we are rarely given permission to
understand the thought process behind her emotions. We don’t need to know
everything our protagonist is thinking, but just showing actions without any
explanation just feels detached and un-engaging.
The DVD includes
a featurette that deconstructs the narrative, which is probably a necessity for
anyone wanting to understand all of the stuff they had forgotten about before
the television series decided to clue the audience in. All eight episodes are
included on three discs, along with the featurette.
Entertainment Value:
3.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6.5/10
Historical
Significance: 6/10
Special Features: 3.5/10
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