Post by Brad Nelson on Jan 28, 2022 8:58:36 GMT -8
The Falklands Play is a 2002 BBC TV movie which you can presently find on Tubi TV. Although not comprehensive, and certainly not high-budget, it is an interesting look behind-the-scenes at the diplomacy and the British command structure during this incident.
There is a delightful cast of British regulars including Patricia Hodge, (Phyllida Erskine-Brown of Rumpole), James Fox, Jonathan Coy (Downton Abbey), Robert Hardy (All Creatures Great and Small), and Peter Blythe (Rumpole). John Woodvine is also good as the Admiral of the Fleet.
The acting is good, although Patricia Hodge is no Meryl Streep...and the world sighs in relief that, unlike Streep, Hodge does not play Thatcher meanly or as a caricature. She's no spittin' image but she captures the essence of the lady who once told George H.W. Bush, "Don't go all wobbly on me now George."
The portrayal of the Americans (Reagan, Haig) is crude. And, frankly, the Americans do not come off well. If this account is accurate, they shouldn't, for it seems our diplomats reached for appeasing the Argentinians (and throwing the Falklanders under the bus) just as much of the British foreign office did.
The most striking scenes in this are of Thatcher stiffening spines and bringing moral clarity to the issue. Hodge is terrific in this aspect. Never over-acting, never slipping into but a mere caricature of Thatcher. It's really a nice performance.
There is a delightful cast of British regulars including Patricia Hodge, (Phyllida Erskine-Brown of Rumpole), James Fox, Jonathan Coy (Downton Abbey), Robert Hardy (All Creatures Great and Small), and Peter Blythe (Rumpole). John Woodvine is also good as the Admiral of the Fleet.
The acting is good, although Patricia Hodge is no Meryl Streep...and the world sighs in relief that, unlike Streep, Hodge does not play Thatcher meanly or as a caricature. She's no spittin' image but she captures the essence of the lady who once told George H.W. Bush, "Don't go all wobbly on me now George."
The portrayal of the Americans (Reagan, Haig) is crude. And, frankly, the Americans do not come off well. If this account is accurate, they shouldn't, for it seems our diplomats reached for appeasing the Argentinians (and throwing the Falklanders under the bus) just as much of the British foreign office did.
The most striking scenes in this are of Thatcher stiffening spines and bringing moral clarity to the issue. Hodge is terrific in this aspect. Never over-acting, never slipping into but a mere caricature of Thatcher. It's really a nice performance.
But this docudrama itself is not very comprehensive and you'll wish it had gone into more detail. At 90 minutes it's not short but I think this would have played better as at least a two-part series. Still, I think it's worth a viewing.