In 2019, the world watched as journalist Emily Maitlis sat with Prince Andrew to discuss his ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein. So many people tuned in to the interview that eventually led to Andrew being stripped of his royal duties. Now Netflix has brought us a recounting of what happened.
I actually did not see the original interview, though I did hear about all of its ins and outs. This sequence in the film was certainly the highlight. Everything was building up to it and I thought that it was done very well; it seemed incredibly realistic. I wish that there had been more focus on the interview and the aftermath of it instead of so much build up. Some plot points didn’t seem necessary and were only there for dramatization purposes.
The cast choices were bang on. Gillian Anderson was a force as Maitlis. Her character took centre stage later on, but once she was at the forefront, she completely excelled. Rufus Sewell looked so much like Prince Andrew it was scary. He had the mannerisms down pat too. Keeley Hawes was ever so dedicated as Prince Andrew’s private secretary, not willing to believe he could be at fault for anything and Romola Garai helped bring it all together as fellow journalist Esme Wren. It was Billie Piper as Sam McAlister, however, who shined the brightest of all. Not only did she break the story, she the real life Sam wrote the book that the film is based on.
Adapting a real life news story like this is no easy feat. Similar projects like Bombshell and She Said paved the way for Scoop and I feel like it was mostly enjoyable. It’s natural to add some padding for entertainment’s sake, but I wish there’d been just that something more to completely hold my attention.
Rating: ♥️♥️♥️
Credits Rolling 