War TV preview: A battle of attrition
Divorce gets decidedly cut-throat as Dominic West and Sienna Miller battle it out in the courtroom
With actual wars being waged in several parts of the world, the title of this divorce drama could feel a little indelicate. But you only need to observe the opposing legal teams trying to thrash out a deal, looking every inch like a war cabinet in action, to know that battlegrounds come in many forms. A decade earlier, when loved-up couple Morgan (Dominic West) and Carla (Sienna Miller) signed a prenup, it was to protect her Hollywood earnings, not his meagre tech salary. But now, her acting career is on the slide and he’s a social media mogul worth millions. Add to that Morgan’s inability to keep his boxers on when pretty young things come calling, and the gloves are well and truly off.
The end of any marriage comes at a price, but writer George Kay seems disinterested in the emotional cost. Instead, War puts money front and centre, as both parties plough huge quantities of cash into legal fees to improve their chances of walking away victorious. With heartbreak taking a back seat, there’s plenty of screen time for the double-crossing, conniving London law firms to exhibit full-scale skullduggery. It also frees viewers up from the usual ‘whose side are you on?’ debate, so we can devote all our attention to figuring out which pair of eyes will have wool pulled over them next. A stellar cast stands behind West and Miller (Nina Sosanya, Celia Imrie and Pip Torrens among them, all playing lawyers) as complex webs are woven. And while finding anyone to truly root for might prove tricky, staying engaged is no problem at all.
War is available on Sky Atlantic and Now from Friday 2 October.