SCANDAL
Reviewed by David N. Butterworth
(c) 1989 David N. Butterworth/The Summer Pennsylvanian
If you plan to go to see SCANDAL because of the much publicized orgy scene which twice garnered the film an "X" rating prior to its release, don't bother. The scene has been trimmed to virtual non-existence by an overzealous board of film censors. What's left is a movie which, considering its subject matter, remains surprisingly unerotic.
SCANDAL documents the sensational events which lead to the toppling of Britain's conservative government under Prime Minister Harold MacMillan in the early 1960s. It chronicles the sensational relationship between then Secretary of State for War John Profumo (played in the film by Ian McKellen) and alleged call girl Christine Keeler (Joanne Whalley-Kilmer in a standout performance), an affair which shocked the nation.
John Hurt plays Dr. Stephen Ward, the osteopath who is obsessed with beautiful young women. He takes Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies (Bridget Fonda, daughter of Peter) under his wing and into his home. This is the type of role which Hurt could play in his sleep - upper class, oozy and reptilian, yet somehow sympathetic.
By contrast, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer is altogether stunning as Keeler. She does most of her acting with her chocolate brown eyes and her physical presence dominates the film. As Ward later tells her, "When I see beauty like yours, I want to liberate it. I could do wonders with you. I could shock the world." Ironic words indeed.
With Ward's social connections, it is not long before he is propositioned by British Intelligence to use his women friends to entrap Russian naval attache Eugene Ivanov (Jeroen Krabbe). He complies by throwing Keeler and Ivanov together and daring Keeler to seduce the phlegmatic Russian.
Ward's connections also enable Keeler to mingle with government officials. It is at a party at Clifton, a country estate belonging to Lord Astor, a friend of Ward's, that she literally runs into War Minister Profumo wearing nothing more than a few palm fronds and a smile. It's an introduction that needs no introductions.
The affair which transpires is notorious in its own right, but made all the more so by Keeler's dual involvement with a top Cabinet official and a suspected Russian agent. When Profumo demands her complete devotion, Keeler refuses to leave Ward's flat and Profumo breaks off their affair.
In the meantime, Ward does not stop at making socially correct introductions for his "little baby." He introduces her to London's Jamaican subculture, where she quickly becomes involved with illicit drugs and the object of several drug dealers' desires. Two clash over her affections, and the subsequent shooting incident makes the headlines.
The Profumo scandal breaks when a reporter from the "Sunday Pictorial" talks with Keeler about the shooting, and Keeler, hurt by Profumo's rejection, confesses her relationship with him, as well as with Ivanov and other public figures.
Once his involvement becomes public knowledge, Ward's influential friends drop him and his life is destroyed. He is formally charged with accepting money gained through prostitution, although Keeler flatly denies the allegation. As a result of all of the publicity, Profumo steps down after admitting that he lied in his personal statement to the House of Commons, a statement in which he vouched that "no impropriety" took place between himself and Keeler.
When the outcome of a film is known beforehand, it is all the more important to closely examine the motivations of its lead characters. In this regard, the film is somewhat aloof. On the one hand, it might be understandable why a woman of Christine Keeler's age and background could be seduced into what was, essentially a lifestyle of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, a lifestyle which, Wards tells her, "in order to enter one has to be very clever...or very beautiful." But that doesn't tell us everything.
One thing we do learn is that she does it for love. Stephen Ward allowed her to enter his world, and in return she loved him. He was, by her own admission, the only man she had ever loved, yet they were never sexually intimate. This provides a moment of insight into her character -- for her, there is a world of difference between love and sex. Sex was her ticket to a more glamorous life.
On the strength of Michael Thomas's screenplay, it would appear that the events surrounding the Profumo affair were certainly sordid. The film successfully captures the flavor and vulgarity of England in the early 60s. Sex in this world is portrayed as quick, common and dirt cheap, rather than anything meaningful or erotic.
What's left of the orgy scene is a total turnoff. Much more erotic - in a trashy sort of way - is the sequence in which Keeler and her girlfriend Rice- Davies dress for a night on the town. They are filled with their own sexual power and, though their weapons are lipstick and lingerie, they are like two gladiators preparing for battle. It is, perhaps, the only titillating scene in the film.
Everything else in SCANDAL is either lewd or sad by comparison, an apt description for an affair which single-handedly ended a political era.
| Directed by: Michael Caton-Jones David N. Butterworth - UNIVERSITY OF PA | | Rating: *** Internet: butterworth@a1.mscf.upenn.edu |
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