Hotter than a sloppy Giuseppe from Pizza Express in Woking, Prince Andrew’s disastrous 2019 Newsnight interview left global audiences gobsmacked and rocked the monarchy. This taut, punchy, behind-the-scenes drama does a great job of unpicking the underdog story of how booking producer Sam McAlister (a scrappy Billie Piper) captured the scoop of the decade.
Director Philip Martin (a veteran of The Crown) gives Sam’s canny chasing of royal-related Jeffrey Epstein tip-offs a Working Girl (1988) vibe, as posh Newsnight journos scoff at the impossibility of an interview. And rather than spoofing Rufus Sewell’s bluff Prince Andrew, the film digs into the blinkered entitlement that led him and his naive private secretary Amanda Thirsk (Keeley Hawes) to try changing his 'Randy Andy' reputation with a PR offensive.
Once McAlister has reeled in the royal, the film has a thriller’s tone and pace. In that trademark ‘Netflix London’ style, urgent mobile calls outside famous buildings and arguments in glass-walled offices ensue as the Newsnight team obsessively war-game the top-secret, high-stakes encounter.
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In the exquisite gunfight-style tension of the real interview, Gillian Anderson’s uncannily accurate portrayal of Emily Maitlis (that cocked head and laser stare) comes into its own. Yet even she is outclassed by Sewell’s narcissistic but oddly charismatic Prince Andrew. As well as physically transforming himself into the beefy, grey-haired prince, he finds a telling vulnerability in the 59-year-old ‘spare’, indulged by Palace yes-men (and women) into thinking he could charm the nation. There’s yet another film in production about the interview, but this one will take some beating.
Scoop will be released via Netflix on April 5.
For more films to keep an eye on this year, stay up to date with our guide to the most exciting upcoming movies.
