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14 out of 16 people found the following review useful: Surprising and moving, 18 October 2005 Author: LewisJForce (gunghomonro@yahoo.com) from Wolverhampton, England
I saw this for the first time last night on Channel 4. I've never sought out the film before because I assumed that it would be an uninvolved telling of an uninteresting piece of British history. I was wrong.The piece works on several levels, as they say. First, the period evocation is excellent. I became interested in this era after reading an interesting book on slum landlord Peter Rachmann a few years back (he is a minor character here). Christine Keeler was a figure who inhabited both the pot and ska parties of London's impoverished immigrant community and the bedrooms of the most powerful men in the land, and this breadth and contrast gives the film sufficient scope to successfully capture the energy and feel of the time.Second, the handling of character development is exemplary. The film surprises you by gradually shading in the relationship between Keeler and Stephen Ward, until their completely believable 'love affair' becomes the focus in the moving finale. Joanne Whalley and John Hurt are both exceptional as Keeler and Ward, turning in subtle and detailed performances. These characters are contradictory and ambiguous, the kind of complex human beings who could quite easily be reduced to type by lesser actors.Third, the film is made with real heart and intelligence. It is sympathetic to its characters and it strives to understand them, and thus help us to understand them. The director, Michael Caton-Jones frames and cuts with brilliant understatement, making potent and witty use of contemporary music throughout. I really didn't expect the seamless technique and low-key accretion of detail employed here, and it kept me fascinated.The tone of the picture is just right. A kind of compassionate sadness. We come to feel the real injustice of the moral and social hypocrisy bought to bear without being assaulted by it, and as noted before, the ending is powerful and affecting. It would appear that tabloid scumbags were as pernicious an influence then as they are now, and the observations thereon are as relevant as ever.If I had to find fault with the film, it would be this: Ian McKellen models perhaps the least convincing bald pate in the history of cinema as John Profumo. So much so, that, for me, it impacts negatively on his otherwise notable performance. Its a minor flaw all told.I was surprised. I was impressed. I was moved. If you happen upon the film, sit down and watch it. You will be rewarded.
13 out of 16 people found the following review useful: The Good & The Bad Of 'Scandal', 20 July 2006 Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States
I didn't expect much out of this when I was saw it about 15 years ago, but it turned to be quite interesting. The only problem was it has too much a sleazy feel to it and an obvious political agenda, which is not unusual in films. The agenda is almost always one way.There is a lot of nudity in here, lots of it mainly with Bridget Fonda who plays "Mandy Rice-Davies" and Joanne Whalley-Kilmer as "Christine Keeler." Whalley-Kilmer looked particularly beautiful.John Hurt as "Stephen Ward" and Ian McKellen "John Profumo" are the males. The story is about Britain's "Profumo Affar," as it was labeled back then - a sex scandal involving English politicians in the early 1960s.In what could be a dry account turns out to be a fascinating movie, well-acted and beautifully-photographed. I've seen it three times and the third was probably the last. By then, the titillation of the nudity had worn off and the bias of yet another Liberal agenda bashing conservatives (it's same all over in the world of film-making) got a bit annoying. That, and the fact that had no English subtitles on the DVD, was disappointing.
6 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Much ado about nothing, well done, 22 October 2005 Author: paul2001sw-1 (paul2001sw@yahoo.co.uk) from Saffron Walden, UK
Viewed from the 21st century, the Profumo affair seems much ado about nothing, a sex scandal of an altogether more innocent age. Put to one side the marginal security issues, and all that is left is a bit of bad behaviour among the aristocracy, and to be frank, if you choose not to shoot these people, you can't really expect for anything more. It did leave one serious casualty, however: Stephen Ward, procurer of girls to the upper classes, who committed suicide after being abandoned by his friends when the going got tough. 'Scandal' tells his story, and manages to be reasonably sympathetic to Ward, Christine Keeler (the girl who slept with Profumo) and even (to some extent) the minister, although the facts don't quite seem to support the continuing strength of the bond between Ward and Keeler as depicted. The portrait of the early 1960s is well judged (without the film ever feeling overly historical), and there are interesting insights into the semi-professional sexual relationships between the smart set and the girls on the make they adopted. But the best thing about 'Scandal' is really the acting. A distinguished array of British character actors perform their turns impeccably; and Joanne Whalley, while never quite looking eighteen, is a dead ringer for Keeler and always nice to look at. But in his own way, John Hurt (who plays Ward) is also great to look at, in his case because of his straightforward excellence as an actor. In his hands, Ward is an essentially mediocre man; and yet charming, far from wicked and ultimately tragic. In some senses, the whole affair provided a template for the subsequent portrayal of the private lives of politicians by the press, to the extent that today it would hardly make the waves that it did at the time. But this film goes far beyond historical reconstruction, and is well worth watching in spite of the relative triviality of the events is portrays.
6 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Where's the British DVD of this classic film!!!!????, 18 October 2005 Author: powderblue
I wont go into detail regarding the plot however the film is based on actual events in the early 1960's regarding the illicit affair of war minister Jack Profumo and teenage party-girl Christine Keeler..I watched the film last night on British TV and was fortunate to see the longer 114 minute version..with more substance added to the scenes between Christine and Mandy-Rice Davies and longer speeches from other characters including the police man interrogating Christine...this fleshed out version was much better than the video version i saw years ago..the feel and look of the film is stunning..soundtrack excellent..and the performances very moving and under-rated..it amazes me that Joanne Whalley hasn't done more work since this film..she is wonderfully seductive and naive as Christine,and Bridget Fonda is cunning and striking as Mandy-Rice Davies..and off course John Hurt turns in yet another incredible performance!..One Question...WHY HAS'NT THIS BRILLIANT AND CLASSIC FILM BEEN RELEASED ON DVD IN THE U.K..and yet it has in America!??
6 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Turgid but clever, 25 October 2001 Author: occupant-1
This is one of the better contemporary fictionalizations of historical events, though it suffers from lack of exposition. Here's the history that you need to follow events: John Profumo, England's Minister of Defence (equivalent to the US Defense Secretary) was introduced to party girls (like Christine Keeler) by popular osteopath Stephen Ward. But unlike some upper-crust friends of Ward, Profumo had more to lose. When it got out that Keeler had dated a Soviet Navy attache at about the same time as she dated the married Profumo, British tabloids had a field day noting that there were national security concerns atop the infidelity problem. One reason folks in the US have difficulty with this issue is that the story was overshadowed in the States by the almost simultaneous Cuban Missle Crisis. The great soundtrack's now been out on CD for a few years; the theme was produced by the Pet Shop Boys and sung by authentic 60's icon Dusty Springfield. All other songs chosen charted during the early 60's, giving the film the ring of authenticity. And due possibly to legal problems, the original performance of Chubby Checker's THE TWIST couldn't be used, so Checker re-recorded it for this film. This newer, punchy 1989 version is the one used today behind Pantene shampoo commercials.
6 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Excellent representation of the times and facts., 22 July 1999 Author: Yuri Ashuev from Chicago, US
I've read the book that the movie is based on (a collection of reports on the 1963 affair that shook the UK politics). I must say that the movie is very accurate in its portrayal of the times and facts of the case.That of course would not have made it the film to watch. So it has a lot of nudity to spice things up (man, the sixties were a decadent time!), good acting, and brilliant soundtrack of theme songs just recreates the times for you. John Hurt as the ambitious 'doctor' is excellent, as is Bridget Fonda. Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, who played the protagonist, Christine Keeler, is quite forgettable though.I highly recommend this movie, but beware it's a STRONG "R" film.
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: More Than Just a History Lesson, 15 November 2006 Author: aimless-46 from Kentucky
If "Scandal" (1989) was not a fairly accurate recounting of Britain's John Profumo Affair, the characters and events would be too weird to be considered plausible fiction. Defense Minister Profumo's attempt to refute allegations of his involvement with Christine Keeler ultimately brought down the 10 year Conservative Party government back in the mid-1960's. "Scandal recreates these events and gives the viewer a glimpse into the personalities and possible motives of the main players in this political soap opera.But recreating history is a secondary consideration in this film whose theme is about individuals who live in a fairy tale world until they fall victim to the grim forces that take life more seriously. The main player is Stephen Ward (John Hurt), a osteopath and recreational artist whose main goal is to be part of the right crowd, not so much immersed in this kind of society as in a position to observe it closely for his amusement. His method for doing so involves discovering ravishing young women from the poor side of town and doing a Henry Higgins number on them. The film begins with his discovery of Keeler (Joanne Whalley) who he begins grooming and introducing to prominent members of his in-crowd. The two soon fall in love, but theirs is not a physical relationship. Stephen delights in seeing his protégé work her magic on men in authority. This eventually leads to their doom, since no one quite understands such an unconventional relationship they have no credibility when an attempt is made to make Stephen a scapegoat for the government scandal.In retrospect the process of attacking Ward to contain the widening scandal was one of the two most shameful abuses of the judicial system in post war Britain. Coincidentally Hurt played the victim in the other one as well; "10 Rillington Place" (1971), in which Hurt is wrongly executed for a murder committed by his landlord, the now notorious serial killer John Christie."Scandal" is a powerful and arresting film with solid performances. Whalley has the biggest role and is a bit too intelligent looking to be completely believable as a character like Keeler. But she is so nice to look at that almost anyone would willingly trade credibility for scenery-and she is otherwise entirely convincing in an excellent performance. I first noticed her in "Willow", the film she made just before "Scandal". She had a secondary part but her scenes were the most memorable in the entire film. Hurt somehow sells you on the fact that his character derives an innocent joy from simply seeing a beautiful young woman walking down the street on a nice day.Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
6 out of 9 people found the following review useful: So this is what it was all about., 15 August 2005 Author: loza-1
I remember the names of the people involved when I was a kid. I had no idea what the Profumo Affair was all about, so I was very interested in seeing the film. Names from my childhood kept cropping up: Christine Keeler, Stephen Ward, Lucky Gordon. I was able to see the whole thing played out before me. Most of what is shown is historically accurate. It is certainly true that the osteopath Stephen Ward was hounded to his death by the British establishment. Of the performances John Hurt was excellent as Ward. Joanne Whalley Kilmer has been criticised for a two dimensional performance. I don't agree. She had decided to play the part of someone who is essentially shallow (however deep the real Christine Keeler might or might not be) and makes a fair fist of it. I thought that Roland Gift was OK as Johnny edgecombe - although at the time I thought he was supposed to be Lucky Gordon.I thought that Leslie Philips was going to be a disaster as Lord Astor, but he was excellent.The problem of having lived through the period is that when it is portrayed on film, you can see all the mistakes in fashions and background. This film is no exception.The music is quite apt - in one case (see below) spot on - and I thought that the truly appalling rendition of "She Wears Red Feathers" in the night club scene was very atmospheric.Someone else pointed out the scene as the girls are dressing while The Shadows play "Apache." That scene stimulated me, too. If you can, watch this scene in a cinema. Watching stockings been drawn on on a big screen while Tony's bass drum, Cliff's Japanese drum, then Jet's bass come rolling out of those gigantic cinema speakers is an experience not to be missed - believe you me!
2 out of 3 people found the following review useful: Excellent film throughout!, 21 March 2006 Author: Spencer Clark from United Kingdom
This film is an account of the Profumo affair involving Christine Keeler. I really enjoyed this film as it was well made and i also like John Hurt as an Actor. His role in this film was of Stephen Ward the "scapegoat" of the whole Affair and this film portrays it from his side well, he doesn't fail in this film either! Joanne Whalley-Kilmer has an uncanny likeness to the real Miss Keeler too and in some parts it was hard to tell them apart. There are real locations used throughout the film too i.e Lord Astors house and the great pool!!!! There are some saucier scenes in the uncut version but either version contains enough plot etc and i don't feel it spoils it if you are viewing a edited version. This film is definitely well worth a look!
4 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Glorious and Moving, 31 January 2005 Author: (style@austinchronicle.com) from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
The instrumental "Apache" is playing as Christine Keeler (Joanne Whalley-Kilmer) and Mandy Rice-Davies (Bridget Fonda) are dressing for a night at a *knocking shop*. The montage is pure early-Sixties erotica as these contrasting beauties are fastening their merry widows and applying their frosted lipstick, with the rolling rhythm of the music propelling the delectable visuals. Slipping into their party dresses, with a final command of, "Wet your lips," the girls are stunning, and all eyes are on them. Cut to: rustling satin sheets and the ecstatic cooing and moaning of two women making very vocal love. The "ooohhhing" and "aaahhhing" is intense and limbs are flailing as the camera travels over the bed, settling on the faces of Christine and Mandy. A final unified sigh of orgasmic lust and the girls dissolve into uncontrollable laughter as their passion is revealed as a charade, and the camera pans to their catch of the evening, a very aroused matinée idol, who, unable to contain himself, blows a battle cry and swandives into bed with them. Steamy and hysterical, it is drop-dead stylish film-making, and only one dazzling segment of a brilliant film.
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