The Possible Murder

I finished A Very English Scandal last night and. one thing's for sure, Hugh Grant is a much better actor than the sputtering parodies of him might suggest. As the series becomes more and more reticent about putting words in Jeremy Thorpe's mouth, much more is communicated by Grant's facial expressions alone which invite the viewer to see possibly the barest hint of sympathy for Norman or the intense restraint mustered to hide his fury at his former friends.

The show clearly takes the position that everything Norman (Ben Whishaw) said was true. A brief appearance by the real Norman Scott at the end of the film suggests where Russell T Davies' sympathies lie. Yet, the courtroom scenes in the third episode left me far from certain about Norman's innocence or Jeremy's guilt.

Jeremy hires a lawyer (Adrian Scarborough) with a reputation for winning by demolishing the reputations of witnesses. But his pointing it out doesn't make it any less of a fact that Peter Bessell (Alex Jennings) stood to profit if Jeremy received a guilty verdict or that Norman had a history of speaking extravagant lies about himself.

So the series makes a bold choice in choosing a side and yet Davies never writes one side as a hero or villain, just as flawed human beings. This was especially appreciable in the second episode during the bungled attempt to murder Norman. Rarely outside of a Coen Brothers film do you see such authentically ordinary killers or the silly, bizarre coincidences that can accumulate around an attempted crime. All the characters always feel honestly written and the show never falls asleep at the wheel.

A Very English Scandal is available on Amazon Prime.

Twitter Sonnet #1502

A voice recorded stopped the quiet room.
A watch's frozen hands could still persist.
The trackless minutes chilled the church's gloom.
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A spot of sun recedes behind the cloud.
A slash of rust disrupts the verdant hill.
The scattered stones had done a mason proud.
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Reflected names were stalking streets at dusk.
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The real is small beside the skillful act.
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