‘Scandal’ veers between comedy, tragedy
The old saying “comedy is tragedy plus time” applies to Amazon’s miniseries “A Very English Scandal.”
It just seems that not enough time has passed for the makers to get a grip on the plot.
A bizarre tale even by today’s standards, “A Very English Scandal” tells the true story of a British member of Parliament who was leading a secret homosexual life in the 1960s and conspired
with the dumbest crooks this side of a “ScoobyDoo” cartoon to kill his ex-lover a decade later.
Hugh Grant (“Bridget Jones’s Diary,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral”), in a rare TV appearance, stars as Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe. Thorpe is a force to be reckoned with, a supporter of Europe and immigrant rights, a thundering narcissist and a charismatic black hole who seems to inspire the men around him to all sorts of unethical behavior.
He has good reason to hide his private life. Homosexuality was not only condemned, it was met with hefty criminal penalties at the time this three-hour miniseries opens in 1965.
Norman Scott (Ben Whishaw, “London Spy”) is a stablehand who becomes ensnared in Thorpe’s web. “Now I’m going to kiss you and you will enjoy it,” Thorpe tells him, in perhaps the least romantic moment ever captured for television.
Scott suffers from bouts of emotional instability, and their relationship craters. But while Scott leaves Thorpe’s life, he’s never far from his mind. As the years pass, as Thorpe’s star rises, he becomes obsessed with silencing Scott before he can expose his double life. Killing Scott, he tells one shocked colleague, would be “no worse than shooting a sick dog.”
Late in the miniseries, as his secrets unravel, Thorpe finds unexpected understanding from his second wife, and Grant stops and displays all sorts of palpable amazement. The actor has a grand time, and occasionally you will, too.
But “Scandal,” based on the book by John Preston, written by Russell T. Davies (“Doctor Who”) and directed by Stephen Frears (“The Queen”), never settles on a tone.
One moment, it’s delivering sly, savage moments worthy of Ricky Gervais’ “The Office.” Then it becomes earthquake serious as one heterosexual politician reveals why he wants to decriminalize homosexuality.
Scott was something of a pioneer, a man ahead of his time who refused to deny his sexuality. The real man still lives and reportedly has expressed mixed feelings about this adaptation of his life. It’s easy to see why.
“A Very English Scandal” plays too much with tragedy.