It’s been five years since Jeffrey Epstein died while in custody. The rumor mill has circulated that he didn’t intentionally hang himself. He was connected to so many other powerful people including former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, as well as Prince Andrew. So, it’s not that hard. If people get shanked all the time in prison, it’s very likely someone may have arranged to get to Epstein.
But I’m not going to get into the Did He or Didn’t He aspect of Epstein because he isn’t really that important to the movie Scoop. Portrayed by British actor Colin Woods, he mostly appears far away for a few scenes under make-up. This movie is about how the BBC’s Newsnight was able to get an interview with Andrew (Rufus Sewell) in Buckingham Palace to question him about his connection to Epstein. And how they knew it would be a big risk to question a member of the British Royal Family in connection with a sexual offender like Epstein.
The interview would air on Nov. 16, 2019, more than three months after Epstein’s death. It would cause the Duke of York to more or less step down from his royal duties as allegations of sexual abuse with minors surface about him. Andrew, who is the younger brother of King Charles III, is mentioned as Queen Elizabeth’s favorite. And I think knowing he would never really be king once Charles married Diana Spencer and had Prince William, Andrew just quit caring. I mean he was only in his early 20s when William was born, so why spend years preparing for a job you’ll never get unless there is a major tragedy resulting in multiple deaths.
If Prince Harry has distanced himself from the Royal Family, Andrew was the first to do it while still keeping one hand on the royal crown. In many ways, I think even the marriage to Sarah Ferguson was more out of obligation. While Charles knew he had to marry Diana, Andrew was pigeon-horned. And they’ve been separated nearly three times as long as they were together. Andrew had a wild streak that hasn’t been tamed. Sewell portrays him as a spoiled playboy afraid to admit he’s getting older.
At the BBC, there was turmoil as Sam McAlister (Billy Piper) isn’t too regarded by the other journalist for her flamboyant style. Her role is more of a booking agent. She negotiates deals on how her boss, Newsnight host Emily Maitlis (Gillian Anderson) can interview. She mainly gets the famous interviewees the other journalists can’t. Sam manages to go through Amanda Thirsk (Keeley Hawes), an assistant for Andrew to arrange the interview. Amanda and Sam form a bond, even though Emily reminds him that if the interview goes bad, they’ll blame her as host instead of the news team.
The movie is flawed at times mostly because it lacks the excitement of All the President’s Men, Spotlight and The Insider as we saw them find the information. But the performances well make up for it. Anderson gives a role of piss and vinegar as the middle-aged news host who knows she’s the star, has more leeway and doesn’t care about flaunting it. She takes her dog, Moody, a whippet, everywhere. But she’s not afraid to let that guard down even around a member of the British family.
Piper adds the right flair to the role of Sam. In our news business nowadays, it begs the question what do we need more of – seasoned journalist who believe in working hard or people more hip to the ever changing trends of a digital age where there is a 24/7 news cycle and we all get news alerts? (Also, in regards to the horrible performance of Trump this week during an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists, you can see some of Andrew’s arrogance in Trump. This is a subject for another post but you can see that some men still view women as beneath them, no matter what they’ve achieved. Andrew makes a comment upon seeing Emily for the interview that she’s wearing trousers.)
Hawes has the more difficult role as an assistant who knows there’s only so much she can do. And her position only exist because it’s unheard of to have a member of the British Royal Family to do the meaningless tasks. She’s like a babysitter for an overgrown child who will knows he’ll never be punished severely.
Scoop had been nominated for an Emmy for Best Television Movie and director Phillip Martin has a TV background, most famously in The Crown. Ergo, a movie like this can’t shake the look and feeling of being a TV movie even though it’s about a very important subject. Still, it’s worth watching to show that sometimes the people who think they are more powerful don’t really have the clout they think they do. And it’s a reminder that journalism and reporting is about asking the questions that need to be asked.
What do you think? Please comment.?
Zane Says 