Product Description Based on a chilling true story, The Widower tells how a seemingly mildmannered male nurse, Malcolm Webster (Reece Shearsmith) poisoned and murdered his first wife, attempted to do the same to his second wife, and further schemed to deceive his third fiancee. Review "Reece Shearsmith is in a whole league of his own!" --The Independent
A**R
The Widower
Very interesting story line and I was amazed how he kept getting away with the stuff he pulled on the ladies. Also surprised this was a true story, but they finally managed to catch up with him. took a long time however. I liked this and recommend it highly.
W**N
excellently done
you know what's coming, but you have to see anyway. this film is so well acted and directed that you can watch all three parts because it is interesting and done so flawlessly. a gentle murder mystery with a little mystery and lots of murder.
O**L
Held my interest
Enjoyed this video and the depiction of such unfathomable events. Story was well told. Watched it by myself and then took it on a trip and watched it again with some family members who also found it creepy but entertaining.
G**S
Truth is stranger than fiction....!
This is an unusual, and true story. Quite unbelievable in every aspect. Acting by unknown actors is exceptional and almost haunting! Just hope the criminal is in prison for a very long time! What do they say...truth is stranger than fiction!
S**I
Good buy
The film was so crazy and it was true I just concluded what a crazy guy
T**Y
A TRUE STORY
In 2013 did an excellent job of telling much of the true story of this sociopath. Although it's not part of this series, some years before he murdered his first wife, it's suspected that he was connected to the suspicious deaths of 3 children at a hospital in Abu Dhabi and that his father, a Detective Chief Superintendent withd the Fraud Squad of the Metropolitan (London) Police, assisted his departure from the UAE. In May 1994 he arranged the fiery 'accident' in Scotland that killed his wife of 8 months. More crimes and plans to murder more women followed until he was charged in 2009. He was convicted in 2011 and sentenced to life imprisonment - to serve a minimum of 30 years. Since then he's filed several appeals. The acting is great.
D**Z
Five Stars
Thanks
C**D
Great!
Great movie!!
O**A
Mesmerising performance by Reece Shearsmith, one of the very best British true crime films
This is a high quality production, one of the very best true crime films ever produced. Reece Shearsmith is mesmerising in his portrayal of wife killer Malcolm Webster and there are stunning performances by Archie Panjabi (Simone Bannerjee), Kate Fleetwood (Felicity Webster) and Sheridan Smith (Claire Webster).The film runs for 136 minutes over 3 episodes and I found it impossible not to watch the full 3 episodes in one sitting, it is compelling viewing from beginning to end and demonstrates the superb acting ability of Reece Shearsmith who portrayed the character Malcolm Webster with a chilling sense of reality all the way through. I have studied the case, read the book also and the storyline is very close to the original facts.Webster killed his first wife Claire (Sheridan Smith) and went on to live in New Zealand with his second wife Felicity Webster, née Drumm (Kate Fleetwood) and appears to have laid plans to dispose of his final girlfriend Simone Bannerjee (Archie Panjabi). The storyline is gripping, entertaining and so superbly acted, right from the opening scene to the closing one, it is impossible to see ‘the joins’. As the film progresses we become privy to the cold, confident and skilful way that Webster manipulates the three key women, forging signatures, plotting their eventual deaths, the first wife by a staged car accident and the second one a similar but failed attempt, leaving him able to astonishingly escape justice and flee New Zealand to Oban in Scotland where he cunningly manipulates his third target (Simone Bannerjee) faking cancer to the point of pretending to be in hospital in London, shaving his hair off to represent chemotherapy and coming back to carefully plot the eventual downfall of victim three by tampering with her lifejacket stored on her yacht, fortunately he was caught by the unusual police use of an Osman letter to warn off Simone.
R**G
Enthralling mini-series.
A well paced thriller that is far above the average tv series, with a compelling performance by Reece Shearsmith playing the enigmatic central villain.It is chilling that the story is based on a real incident and just shows how far, and how easily, someone can go to gain money through a series of criminal acts involving murder and fraud.The plot was enhanced by very good supporting performances by Archie Panjabi ('The Good Wife'), Sheridan Smith ('Cilla') and a secondary role by John Hannah ('Spartacus') playing the detective who eventually latched onto the train of events to try to bring down the real Malcolm Webster before he could complete his agenda.Solid entertainment and well worth a watch, made all the more believable by clever direction by Paul Whittington.
C**T
Reese Shearsmith is amazing as Malcolm Webster
Reese Shearsmith is amazing as Malcolm Webster, this man was a creepy sick con man who preyed on the women who were taken in and trusted him because they cared. In my opinion, if it wasn't for his second wife who knows, he may have killed more women. I read books on Criminal Psychology, the signs were all there with this man, but unfortunately people can sometimes be ruled by their heart, and that is their fatal error, for them their kind hearted and trusting nature is their downfall.
Z**E
Utterly absorbing
Flicking through TV Channels I caught a snatch of this and was so drawn in by the plot and acting that I had to send for the DVD.Your attention never wavers for a second, so in a real sense it is truly gripping. The Widower is deliciously chilling but notso scary that you will be scared to go to bed afterwards, I recommend watching all three episodes at one sitting, which only takes around two and a quarter hours.
G**N
Gripping and horrific.
Having seen this on TV, I had to get the DVD. I was not disappointed. Subtitles very helpful. Good performance by Reece Shearsmith, and commendable performances from everyone else. I did not realise at first that the whole thing was non-fiction, and I was a little worried when I learnt it was. I hoped Malcolm wouldn't gain anything out of the sales of the DVD, but having read the case on the Internet, I was assured that any money made would go towards the families of the victims, or in Felicity and Edward's cases, intended victims. Worth watching!
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