A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL: With Good Pacing, Taste, and Style

If this story were not true, I would say that the screenwriters went wildly over the top. It is hard to believe the plot, but in fact everything shown on screen really happened. It is a very interesting subject, presented at a good pace, with taste and, as the title suggests, stylishly, in English style. After all, the director’s name is a guarantee—Stephen Frears is no ordinary filmmaker. We are dealing with a truly successful miniseries. A Very English Scandal.

The action takes place in Great Britain at the turn of the 1960s and 1970s. Jeremy Thorpe is a Member of Parliament, a respected politician of the Liberal Party and its future leader.

He enjoys the voters’ sympathy and is respected in his milieu. The problem is that he is attracted to men. Today that fact would probably not matter much, but in those days homosexuality in England was simply forbidden. If anyone had learned of Thorpe’s inclinations, he would have been treated like a criminal and his political career would have ended immediately.

Although for years he managed to hide his orientation from those around him, everything changed after he met Norman Josiffe.

A somewhat naive and seemingly clumsy young man, feeling deceived by Thorpe and deprived of the chance to work, filed a complaint with the police against him. The politician was forced quite regularly to cover up his relationship with Josiffe, until finally he decided that the best solution would be to get rid of him once and for all. He began to plan a murder…

When the whole affair came to light, the BBC filmed a documentary about Thorpe and his former partner. However, it was never broadcast. In 2009 the same station attempted to make a feature film with Rupert Everett in the lead role, but the politician threatened to sue and the project was abandoned.

The miniseries is based on John Preston’s book, which quite faithfully presents the long-concealed facts. The creators leave no doubt as to the story itself—its course is rather clear—but the characterization of the main figures is not as unambiguous as one might think. There is no talk of a black-and-white division. It suffices to say that Josiffe, now calling himself Norman Scott, was deeply disappointed by how he was portrayed.

A Very English Scandal is a three-episode series that shows events over the course of several decades.

The relationship between these two men, who might at first seem completely mismatched, constitutes only part of the plot. Within this story Frears skillfully depicts the political and social situation as well as the changing rights of homosexuals in Great Britain. Both main characters are treated equally, given the same amount of attention—their fates do not, moreover, boil down to their romantic involvement. We later see how each of them becomes involved with women, pursues careers, triumphs, but also falls. And all of this is filmed at a great pace, sometimes seriously, even movingly, other times with subtle yet distinct humor. And although indeed after the brilliant first episode the plot unravels somewhat in the next two, it remains a very, very successful miniseries.

The BBC is a broadcaster that never falls below a certain standard, and for many people it is simply a model of how small-screen productions should be made. A Very English Scandal is yet another proof of that. Of course, the story itself is already very interesting, but it was executed masterfully. It is more than a mere reenactment of events—form, vision, meticulous attention to detail, and the cast all count.

One can confidently say that the actors are the greatest asset of A Scandal… Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw perform at a very high, one might say, English level. These are outstanding portrayals, departing from their previous achievements. Both are believable and able to reveal the different shades of their characters’ personalities. I must admit that some time ago I had written off Grant, thinking his career was over and that he would at best live off past fame—how glad I am that I was wrong! His recent roles are among his best screen performances.