Despite some evidence (such as the theme of the Epstein case) Scoop is a film that talks about different things: from journalism, obviously, to the decline of the English royal house. And it does so in a very contemporary way. The review of Scoop by Federico Gironi.
It’s not a film about the Epstein case, despite the final jokes and captions that talk about the victims. Nor all in all on the reckless behavior of that idiot Prince Andrew, the Duke of Yorksomeone who had gotten married before all this mess Sarah Ferguson the toe-sucker, portrayed in the film as mother Elizabeth II’s boy, a big boy who never really grew up.
No. As the title suggests Scoop And a film about journalism. Or rather, on communication. Even more, a film about the first cracks in the monolithic facade of the Windsor dynastythe one that, since Elisabetta has no longer been here, not a day goes by that increasingly becomes an institution in crisis, in the crosshairs, which stumbles upon gaffes and gross errors.
Always and in any case, precisely, in the name of communication. Wrong, obviously.
There’s no point in expecting another one Frost/Nixon, or something similar. Here the actual interview, the one in which Andrew makes a mean impression in front of Emily Maitlis of the BBC Newsnight programme, lasts very little. His preparation certainly has to do with the world of journalism, its practice, its behind the scenes, but also with something different and more complex. With something that is even more relevant today than it was in 2019, that is, in the year in which the film is set and in which the events told actually happened.
The signs are all there: you just need to know how to see them. First of all, after the prologue which tells of the paparazzo who took the infamous photo of the Duke of York walking around New York with Epstein, the film begins by telling the difficulty of the BBC in the face of the aggressiveness of other information platforms, and his announcement regarding the need to cut hundreds of jobs. Immediately afterwards, he is admitted to Andrew’s court a spin doctor for managing his image. The common theme? Communication, obviously, and its entry into crisis in the digital and social media era. La crisis, in particular, of the communication of the British royal house.
Andrew’s interview, in fact, conceived as a tool to clean up his image by the royal house, was a boomerang, a sensational media fiasco, with the Duke and the Palace staff (Buckingham, of course) sensationally out of sync with realityconvinced they had achieved a great result until they saw the reactions of the outside world.
Since then, and especially recently, the Windsors have made several similar, albeit less sensational, missteps. Above all, they are no longer able to respect the famous Elizabethan maxim: “Never complain, never explain”not surprisingly explicitly mentioned in the film.
But to understand certain things you don’t need to get to the moment of the interview. With all due respect to the most important names in the cast, Gillian Anderson And Rufus Sewell (i.e. Emily Maitlis and Andrew, journalist and prince), the most important and significant characters in the cast are two others: the producer of the BBC Newsnight program Sam McAlister, played by Billie Piper, and the prince’s personal secretary, Amanda Thirsk, played by Keeley Hawes. Two second lines, therefore, apparently. And instead.
If the real protagonist of the film is McAlister, it’s not just because Scoop was based on his best seller. And if the most electric line in the film runs between her and Thirsk, it is not only because it is thanks to them that the interview was conceived, granted and carried out.
McAlister and Thirsk embody two different generations, two different social classes, above all two different points of view towards the monarchical institution and the royal family of the subjects of the crown.
On the one hand, a girl who comes from the bottom, vulgar with her dyed hair, the fashion brands clearly visible like a trapper, the python boots that she photographs before entering the Palace for the first time, where she will try to bring home a real teaspoon as a souvenir. A commoner. Someone who, when she has to talk to the prince, even with respect, certainly doesn’t mince her words.
On the other, a woman who has dedicated her life to respecting protocol, who has spent all of herself in care, protection, blind dedication towards her Prince, for whom she has feelings halfway between a mother and a ‘in love. But which the prince, all things considered, doesn’t see: “Do you want to stay with her to watch the broadcast this evening?” she asks, full of hope and apprehension on the day the interview airs. “No, why?”, he replies distractedly.
After that: the collapse. And the Queen-always invisible-forced to remove her favorite and over-spoiled son from the scene. The beginning of an inexorable decline, so much so that today the Windsors seem more tarnished than ever.
Even on a more superficial level, however, Scoop works. Films about journalism, all things considered, always work (perhaps especially among those who, in the sector, usually deal with cinema, who for a couple of hours can delude themselves into thinking that they too, or he too, are a fundamental watchdog of democracy and live by reflected light). Films with English actors always work, they are so good. Speaking of actors: in addition to the names already mentioned, there is also one in the cast Romola Garaianother guarantee.
