A Very Royal Scandal Review – Engrossing Story, Well-Acted, Fresh Take on Old News
- Details
- Category: Haute This Issue
- Published on Thursday, 19 September 2024 10:21
- Written by Janet Walker
A Very Royal Scandal, from Amazon/MGM Studios, presents the story of BBC anchor, Emily Maitlis, and how she managed to secure the interview of a lifetime that toppled a prince, and propelled her to international fame.
The story begins on the day of the now infamous Prince Andrew interview. Emily Maitlis, played by Ruth Wilson, is running late, with curlers in her hair, we yet don't understand why she is running so late. By the time she arrives at Buckingham Palace, her team, and Prince Andrew, played by Michael Sheen, and his assistant Amanda Thirsk, played by Joanna Scanlon, team were all waiting. The scene is overlayed with a persistent ticking of the clock. We understand it to mean, that is running out.
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We then return to February 2011, where we are introduced to the carefree lifestyle of a Prince, golfing, parties, catered lunch on the lawn. The prince is approached by a loyalist, Alastair Watson, played by George Asprey, and we hear the first clue that a woman, Virginia Roberts, is claiming he had sex with her without her permission. And the Daily Mail would be running a photograph of him, with his hand on her bare waist. Prince Andrew dismisses the picture, the girl, the circumstance, and tells the man, in what is common behavior to "bugger off."
We then return to the present, where Emily Maitlis is with her BBC team, Esme, played by Clare Calbraith, and Stewart, played by Eanna Hardwicke, trying to brainstorm for interesting guests on the most watched News Night. During the meeting, they pitch the prince for his new initiative and Emily vetoes it explaining the royals are essentially off the radar after the Princess Diana, Martin Beshire scandal.
The conversation moves into Andrew's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, played by John Hopkins and as a news team they each fill in the blanks with bits of information, and we find out that Andrew was given 'Pitch it Palace' after losing Trade Envoy in 2011 over the picture of him walking through Central Park with the known pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
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It is obvious Emily is frustrated with the government, the harsh realties of Brexit, and essentially a government with too many chefs in the kitchen, all navigating a new recipe with no skills.
Stateside, Virginia Dufrey is fighting and has secured a heavy hitter. Soon, she is telling her story on the news, and local British investigative news shows are picking it up. The storm is not going away. Both Princess Beatrice, played by Honor Swinton Byrne and Princess Eugenia, played by Sofia Oxenham, have doubts over the authenticity of the story. They laugh over the stories Andrew would tell them over his triumphant return from the Falklands, and how the women, in mass, would call his name.
We also see he is still devoted to his former wife, Sarah Ferguson, played by Claire Rushbrook, who remains his staunchest supporter even in the face of hurricane force headwinds. Slowly his luxuries are being taken from him, and we understand he walks a fine line, even as the favorite son, bringing scrutiny and scandal upon the household continues to cost him.
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We return to his moments with Epstein, and how the prince asked Epstein to clear Fergie's debts, which led to the walk in the park, and the infamous photo that connected the prince to the pedophile and was one more nail in the coffin.
Throughout the episodes we see the uncontrollable wild card that no matter the effort, she won't be silenced, and now, with British television picking it up, the story becomes media hell.
Finally, we see Andrew turning to his assistant Amanda Thrisk, and she explains the Emily Maitlis, from the BBC, has been requesting an interview. We can regulate the interview slating it as we determine and pivot the current conversation. He agrees. And to ensure success, they set the interview in 48 hours which doesn't give Emily a lot of time to prep. So, the day of the interview was canceled, and then it was back on. The rest is history.
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What follows resulted in a shocking tell all that failed miserably, and as one fell, the other was elevated to the internationally known journalist who brought him down.
A Very Royal Scandal is an engrossing story, that takes the viewer behind the scenes in both the lives of the BBC team, and the lives of Prince Andrew and his spectacular fall.
Each member of the cast delivers excellent performances. Michael Sheen is brilliant as Prince Andrew. Sheen plays out-of-touch and over-the-top effortlessly and embodies entitlement with every action, and more so when he is held accountable, and his team of lawyers seem powerless. Ruth Wilson portrays the investigative journalist with authenticity.
Riveting and fascinating, A Very Royal Scandal is a must see, even if it is a new take on old news.
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Country: UK.
Runtime: 3 episodes.
Language: English.
Director: Julian Jarrold
Producer: Josh Hyams.
Co-Producer: Emma Mager, Andrew Wood.
Executive Producer: Graham Broadbent, Jeremy Brock, Peter Czernin, Julian Jarrold, Emily Maitlis, Diarmuid McKeown, Karan Thrussell.
Writer: Jeremy Brock, based on the book, "Airhead: The Imperfect Art of Making News" by Emily Maitlis.
Cast: Michael Sheen, Ruth Wilson, Ian Hughes, Eanna Hardwicke, Joanna Scanlan, Claire Rushbrook, Nicholas Burns, Sam Troughtin, Jake Morris, Clare Calbraith, Lydia Leonard, Samson Ajewole, John Hopkins, Honor Swinton Byrne, Matthew Stagg, Sofia Oxenham, Thomas Arnold, George Asprey.
