A Very Royal Scandal

Obviously huge chunks of this docudrama are fictionalised as it portrays what was going on behind the scenes leading up to, during and after the controversial BBC interview with Prince Andrew. We see a lot of Andrew's family and Royal advisors and Emily Maitlis' family and colleagues at the BBC (By the way, I think this is far better dramatisation than the recent version starring Billie Piper which was told through the eyes of a BBC researcher.) Michael Sheen must be one of, if not the best character actors of his time. He does not particularly resemble some of the characters he portrays but with excellent input from wardrobe and make up and his ability to deliver lines with the mannerisms of these people he is utterly convincing in the part. It is thus the case with his portrayal of Prince Andrew. Ruth Wilson is very good to in the role of Emily Maitlis. I think it was an appropriate we do not see any of the Royal family other than Andrew's immediate family portrayed on screen. Mummy and Charles speak to Andrew over the phone and we do not see or hear them. We do have a lot of fictionalised dialogue between Andrew, his daughters and ex-wife Fergie. And some rather cringing scenes with Andrew's staff especially Amanda Thirsk played by Joanna Scanlon. This we should take with a pinch of salt and not as a historical account. We can assume that Emily Maitlis is happy with the depiction of her input into the interview and family life as she was plugging the drama on GMB the day before it dropped on Amazon Prime. I binge watched all 3 episodes because it is such a good dramatisation not because I wanted to know how it ended.

The first thing I need to complain about is the cinematography. For some reason the film is presented in a letterbox format, so we have black bars above and below the picture. The other thing, certainly in the first episode, is that many of the scenes are made in darkness. Maybe it's intentional, but it really makes it hard to see what's going on. Not well lit. So far as the acting is concerned, as usual, Michael Sheen inhabits the character of Andrew very well. Not a nice man, we're led to believe. Emily Maitlis, played by Ruth Wilson, is also believable, though we don't really get an in-depth understanding of her character. She also has adopted a weird kind of accent, a cross between Miranda Hart and Maggie Thatcher.

This show on Prime is apparently Season 3 of "A Very English Scandal" instead of its own title called "A Very Royal Scandal" as it is advertised. I searched for "Royal" and was at a loss. I checked the date, and it should be available, but it wasn't there. Just for fun, I selected the Hugh Grant series and went to Season 3, and there it was! So far, only through one episode, but it's really well done (assuming you know a bit about the story in advance). It's hard to write a review this long without giving anything away. I guess I'll add by saying it's odd they chose to start this miniseries where they did, an interview that's about to happen with no context as to why the interviewer is so flummoxed. Happy viewing! Hope others find this useful in locating the show.

OK, think we all know the story here so it's very interesting to get a bit of behind the scenes of it all. What I really couldn't get on with is Ruth Wilson's take on Maitlis' vocal tone. At points I had to remind myself I wasn't watching The Windors (a brilliant Channel 4 comedy) it seemed that much like she was doing a parody. Michael Sheen is his brilliant usual self and the rest of the cast were 'fine'. This story will never get old and over time, I'm guessing, more information will come to light so no doubt more drama's will come. If you want a masterclass in acting and actually becoming someone else, watch Gillian Anderson in Netflix's Scoop!