Post by Brad Nelson on Dec 27, 2019 22:14:45 GMT -8
A Very English Scandal is a miniseries that you can enjoy like you would an accident on the other side of the freeway. It’s entertaining, gruesome, but you can keep a safe distance from it.
Hugh Grant (badly, in my opinion) plays Jeremy Thorpe, one time Liberal Party leader in Britain. He buggers the emotionally-fragile Norman Scott, played interestingly and effeminately by Ben Whishaw.
For some reason, Grant effects a Edward Fox accent throughout this. I have no idea why. And shame on me for not noticing that Patricia Hodge played Mrs. Thorpe, his mother. I saw her name in the cast listening but didn’t remember seeing her. Well, she was made up quite well.
The reason you would want to watch this is out of sheer curiosity, of watching this train-wreck (of a nation, in my opinion) coming apart. And I think Thorpe, Scott, and others are a microcosm of what is happening on the macro level. While watching this I kept thinking, “The Muslims couldn’t run things worse and are likely to do a little better.”
Their time is coming. For now, Britain continues to socially self-destruct and you can see the beginnings of it in 1960’s. Sure, you might look back and say that Britain’s empire was discombobulated a few decades earlier. But losing territory and influence does not automatically mean one has to lose one’s mind.
Yes, it goes without saying that at the end of the day, this is not only a weird production (shades of Keystone Cops in some sections….an inappropriately jovial tone), it’s also one the praises homosexuality. They might as well have had one of those news tickers at the bottom of the screen that read “None of this would have every been a problem had buggery already been legal and accepted.”
Define deviancy down and all problems solved. And yet you can see why having standards matters. Without them, we’re left pretending our baser instincts are okay. And with no need to be honorable, few are honorable.
Reviewers were praising Hugh Grant up and down for his performance. And it’s not that he doesn’t affect a certain persona. But it just seems strange. And, again, why rip off Edward Fox for your accent? Can’t you do your own?
This is, of course, based on a true story. Spoilers. I’ll summarize it. Reading this will not lessen your enjoyment of this should you decide to watch it: Thorpe, a liberal MP, buggers the young Norman Scott. The unbalanced Scott becomes hard to manage so Thorpe dumps him. Scott retaliates and tries to blackmail Thorpe.
This goes back-and-forth. Eventually Scott goes to the police with evidence. He’s ignored. The issue flairs up years later when apparently Thorpe attempts to have Scott killed. All through these events, Thorpe has these incredibly understanding wives. I don’t get it. You’ll have to watch and explain it to me.
Eventually Thorpe is arrested for attempted murder. There’s a so-so trial scene. Thorpe is acquitted but his political career has long since been over.
It’s interesting to look at a modern production like this and again see that there is no one commendable in it. Maybe one of the police officers who investigates Thorpe and his cohorts. But they’re all rotten and there’s not much to say about a resolution to this other than that they should all go to Hades.
The feel of this is sort of like the excellent British (not the awful American version) House of Cards. Hugh Grant comes nowhere near the charismatic evil of Ian Richardson. However, he does have a bit of that going for him. But the tone and writing of this are fairly uneven unlike House of Cards which is very tight.
I would call a series like this “amusingly instructive.” And it’s instructive in ways that surely the series producers did not intend.
Hugh Grant (badly, in my opinion) plays Jeremy Thorpe, one time Liberal Party leader in Britain. He buggers the emotionally-fragile Norman Scott, played interestingly and effeminately by Ben Whishaw.
For some reason, Grant effects a Edward Fox accent throughout this. I have no idea why. And shame on me for not noticing that Patricia Hodge played Mrs. Thorpe, his mother. I saw her name in the cast listening but didn’t remember seeing her. Well, she was made up quite well.
The reason you would want to watch this is out of sheer curiosity, of watching this train-wreck (of a nation, in my opinion) coming apart. And I think Thorpe, Scott, and others are a microcosm of what is happening on the macro level. While watching this I kept thinking, “The Muslims couldn’t run things worse and are likely to do a little better.”
Their time is coming. For now, Britain continues to socially self-destruct and you can see the beginnings of it in 1960’s. Sure, you might look back and say that Britain’s empire was discombobulated a few decades earlier. But losing territory and influence does not automatically mean one has to lose one’s mind.
Yes, it goes without saying that at the end of the day, this is not only a weird production (shades of Keystone Cops in some sections….an inappropriately jovial tone), it’s also one the praises homosexuality. They might as well have had one of those news tickers at the bottom of the screen that read “None of this would have every been a problem had buggery already been legal and accepted.”
Define deviancy down and all problems solved. And yet you can see why having standards matters. Without them, we’re left pretending our baser instincts are okay. And with no need to be honorable, few are honorable.
Reviewers were praising Hugh Grant up and down for his performance. And it’s not that he doesn’t affect a certain persona. But it just seems strange. And, again, why rip off Edward Fox for your accent? Can’t you do your own?
This is, of course, based on a true story. Spoilers. I’ll summarize it. Reading this will not lessen your enjoyment of this should you decide to watch it: Thorpe, a liberal MP, buggers the young Norman Scott. The unbalanced Scott becomes hard to manage so Thorpe dumps him. Scott retaliates and tries to blackmail Thorpe.
This goes back-and-forth. Eventually Scott goes to the police with evidence. He’s ignored. The issue flairs up years later when apparently Thorpe attempts to have Scott killed. All through these events, Thorpe has these incredibly understanding wives. I don’t get it. You’ll have to watch and explain it to me.
Eventually Thorpe is arrested for attempted murder. There’s a so-so trial scene. Thorpe is acquitted but his political career has long since been over.
It’s interesting to look at a modern production like this and again see that there is no one commendable in it. Maybe one of the police officers who investigates Thorpe and his cohorts. But they’re all rotten and there’s not much to say about a resolution to this other than that they should all go to Hades.
The feel of this is sort of like the excellent British (not the awful American version) House of Cards. Hugh Grant comes nowhere near the charismatic evil of Ian Richardson. However, he does have a bit of that going for him. But the tone and writing of this are fairly uneven unlike House of Cards which is very tight.
I would call a series like this “amusingly instructive.” And it’s instructive in ways that surely the series producers did not intend.