A success by Stephen Frears

POSTED ON OCTOBER 5, 2018

Hugh Grant and Ben Wishaw play the lead roles in A Very English Scandal, which tells the story of Jeremy Thorpe, a prominent politician, who finds himself accused of ordering the murder of his ex-lover, Norman Scott. Stephen Frears directed this remarkable miniseries, a drama with considerable wit, to be screened during the Lumière festival.

For this feature for television, Stephen Frears chose a story that has spilled much ink in the kingdom of Shakespeare. Based on real events, the miniseries takes place in the 60s and 70s, recounting the love affair between Jeremy Thorpe, leader of the British Liberal Party, and Norman Scott, a sensitive and penniless lad. Their secret liaison seems to be safely their own, until the day when their (now defunct) relationship is splashed across the tabloids after a badly shaken Norman speaks out.

Jeremy Thorpe settles into a quiet family life for political correctness, but his career is threatened by his former lover. He asks friend and M.P. Peter Bessell to do whatever is necessary to kill the affair. Nervous about Norman's revelations to his political rival, Emlyn Hooson, Thorpe, on the verge of becoming the new British prime minister, decides to eliminate man who stands in his way. However, the hitman proves unsuccessful, and is arrested. Scott then publicly accuses Thorpe of wanting to have him murdered, but police investigations come up empty. After several twists and turns and Thorpe’s resignation from his party, the case goes to trial before a criminal court.

Choosing a subject that mixes politics and homosexuality (punishable by imprisonment in the early 1960s), Frears ignores the purely dramatic take or the film noir approach, and delivers instead an acerbic comedy. The adaptation of John Preston's book describing the events was written by Russell T. Davies (screenwriter of series like Queer as Folk, and responsible for the return of the legendary Dr. Who on the small screen), who apparently had fun with his characters through this corrosive portrait of English society of the time. The sustained pace of Frears’ directing proves an asset for the two main performers.

Hugh Grant (working with the director of Florence Foster Jenkins) surprises by his incarnation of Thorpe, a charming and manipulative politician. His partner, Ben Whishaw (recognizable from Suffragette and Daniel Craig’s new Q for in the last two James Bonds) perfectly portrays Scott, shy and disconcerted by his lack of self-confidence. The two actors are helped by strong supporting cast, well-known to fans of British series like Alex Jennings (Whitechapel, also the Duke of Windsor in the first two seasons of The Crown). A Very English Scandal is well-suited to Stephen Frears' filmography, deserving its place alongside The Queen (obviously), Philomena or Tamara Drewe. Released in late May on BBC One in the UK, this miniseries of just three one-hour episodes should prove popular with festivalgoers at Lumière.

A Very English Scandal at the Lumière festival: click here.