Scandal

Dir: Michael Caton-Jones

1989

****

Michael Caton-Jones' 1989 drama Scandal is another example of great British cinema that enjoyed a peak in the late 80s, early 90s. These films didn't cause much of a stir and are rarely ever mentioned in film conversation but I've always been a huge fan of them, but alas, I believe their kind will probably never grace cinema screens again, only time will tell. Based on Anthony Summers' Honeytrap, it covers the infamous Profumo Affair that took the UK by storm in early 1963. John Profumo was the Secretary of State for War at the time that he embarked on an affair with a young Christine Keeler. Keeler had been 'discovered', as it were, by Osteopath and Socialite Stephan Ward. He introduced Keeler to all the right people at all the right places, one of her partners also included Captain Yevgeny Ivanov, a Soviet naval attaché, so when Profumo eventually admitted the affair, after initially denying it, it was seen to be a huge security risk with serious repercussions. This sort of sex scandal wasn't the norm in those days, MPs and the establishment were far more careful and the public were far less forgiving. The scandal is credited as the reason the Conservatives lost the 1964 General Election, even though the previous year, a civil servant called John Vassall had been revealed as being a spy for the Soviets. The Vassall affair as it was known did knock the Conservative government, but it was the sordid sex scandal that was the killing blow. It marked the end of one era and the beginning of another. The rise of the gutter media and the idea of becoming famous for sleeping with whatshisname began, with sordid front page kiss and tell stories becoming common place. It took its toll on everyone concerned, with Stephan Ward eventually taking his own life. The film captures the era rather well and gives everyone concerned the right amount of development. John Hurt steals the show as Stephen Ward and the film gives him a very fair and balanced representation. Joanne Whalley is perfect as Christine Keeler from her early days up to her trial and Ian McKellen is brilliant and almost unrecognizable as John Profumo. Support comes from the wonderful Leslie Phillips as Lord Astor, Bridget Fonda as Mandy Rice-Davies - Keeler's friend who claimed to have had an affair with Lord Astor, which is suggested but never portrayed in the film, Britt Ekland as Mariella Novotny and Jeroen Krabbe as Captain Yevgeny Ivanov. Each performance is spot on and on the whole, rather impressive. There is a certain something about the film, an otherworldliness about it that is almost dream-like. I'm not sure about the technicals but I loved the hue of films made in this era. Films of this nature are either really well acted or really good at exploring all the facts, Scandal is a rarity in that it does both.