The Children Act makes for an imbalanced cinematic stew, with ingredients whose disparate flavors blend into an insipid cinematic concoction.
Here’s a sample of only a few of these misguided ingredients:
It’s scored and edited like a melodrama.
It’s acted and written like a serial courtroom drama — and I do mean drama, as in meant for the stage.
It’s shot and directed like a Lifetime movie, with no life other than the artificial.
It’s paced and structured like a character study.
Tonal clashes are my jam..and I guess a melodramatic, character study, Lifetime courtroom drama-on-screen, in theory, could result in a satisfyingly-flavorful dish…
But it sure as shit doesn’t here.