An uncomfortable film because it should have been half an hour shorter and less like a wildly distorted version of "Outnumbered".Miss E.Watson had the impossible task of portraying the Rev.Julie Nicholson whose daughter was murdered by one of the London bombers(the one whose father thinks was innocent and presumably had his bomb planted on him). Fine performance though it is,Miss Watson is unable to prevent her character from being almost saintly due to the way the story is written,and her family has disturbing echoes of so many others that inhabit TV dramaland. Grumpy but loving grandparents,nice but ineffectual husband,bright, happy and clever kids. Only Mr J. Woodvine as Mrs Nicholson's father displayed any human characteristics. Not surprisingly perhaps,her daughter's death caused a crisis of faith in Mrs Nicholson but she still apparently parroted the rhetoric of the Church even in extremis. Conspicuously not referred to was Mrs Nicholson's abandonment of the Anglican Church - for which she could hardly be blamed. There are no easy answers for her - indeed she didn't seem to be looking for any answers of any description. Nobody had anything nasty to say about the bombers' religion - which was remarkably tolerant of them in the circumstances. Quite what Mrs Nicholson's God was up to at the time is something she hasn't yet come to terms with. All in all,"A song for Jenny" was a respectful "tribute" - if that's the word - to innocent victims of terrorism that,despite an intense and moving lead performance was strangely uninvolving and,as such,rather a disappointment.

A song for Jenny is based on Julie Nicholson's book about the death of her daughter in the Edgware Road bombing in July 7 2005. This drama commemorates the 10th anniversary of the 7/7 attacks in London.The drama is overwrought, distressing as we see the Nicholson family at first waiting for news of the fate of their daughter, hopes that she may be alive slowly vanishing as the days go on. Then there is the harrowing aftermath once her body is identified and making the preparations for the funeral while feeling anger for those responsible for the bombings.Emily Watson gives a stoic performance and brings nuances to her character which shows her skills as an actress because I think the script was flawed which affected the drama. It lacked a time and place of the setting to give it some context.I remember driving to walk on the 7 July, 24 hours earlier London had been awarded the Olympics by what seemed like a narrow margin. I was listening to the radio where sport stars were being interviewed of Britain holding the Olympics which was cut short as reports came in of power outages in the underground network and it slowly dawned that this was a terrorist incident. Jubilation turned into horror.Then there were the wars Britain were fighting in the Middle East, in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Iraq war was divisive from the beginning and its repercussions are still being felt now something the film kind of ignored, given that this was a motive for the bombers however misguided. Terrorist attacks in the UK is not new in my lifetime. I grew up in an era of IRA bombings in the mainland. Dramas relating to Irish terrorism on British television went from how evil these people are to more neutral tones to even injustices committed to the republican communities such as wrongly convicted bombers. These things might not be in the book but the context was lacking which hurt the drama.Jenny's father is absent from key parts of the events. I later found out that this was the same in the book, I just felt it was all part to keep Emily Watson centre stage. The drama should had dealt with this aspect better as well.So a flawed drama which I felt was lacking in a stronger story which pains me given the tragic events of this true poignant story.Julie Nicholson has since left the priesthood as she could not forgive the bombers and felt that this was incompatible with her vocation as a priest. She has also divorced her husband.

For Emily Watson, this would be the performance of a lifetime, if she had not already given audiences such performances time after time. Her overwhelming brilliance has come to be routine and expected in every project in which she participates. That being said, this is simply an astounding portrait of a woman devastated by the senseless murder of her daughter by terrorists. Watson does not simply bring the emotional turmoil, the soul wrenching pain of a Anglican Vicar tested beyond the limits of faith, to vivid life. Somehow she makes the viewer share that agony and make it their own. It is one of the most deeply moving performances ever filmed and while the film is incredibly painful to watch, it is also an important cinematic memorial to those who suffered and lost so much on 7/7. This is more than a great actor doing her usual astounding work. This is a performance of historic proportions, so powerful and majestic that it can never be forgotten. A beautiful accomplishment by everyone involved in this staggering production and nothing less than a superbly delivered tribute to the broken hearted survivors of that tragic day by the amazingly gifted Ms. Emily Watson. She is the heart, the soul, and the very essence of A Song For Jenny.

Director Brian Percival has done an absolutely wonderful job bringing Frank McGuinness' deeply moving screen adaptation of A Song For Jenny. It is beautifully done film recounting one mother's loss of her young daughter in the 7/7 terrorist attacks in London. It is a tragic story and at times painful to watch. Emily Watson is perfect in the role of the heart broken, angry parent and what she does in this film is overwhelming. Watson always does stellar work but this is something quite special. There are few if any other actresses who could so powerfully convey the intense emotion and terrible pain of such a horrible loss. Her eyes alone express so much and even in moments of silence, what she does in this role is almost miraculous.