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Anatomy of a Scandal review – none of these characters speak like human beings
Borderline criminal dialogue, nauseating camera work and a ridiculously far-fetched plot mar Sienna Miller’s turn in this Netflix political thriller
There could not have been a more fitting time for Anatomy of a Scandal (Netflix) to arrive. This splashy, trashy drama, a starry adaptation of the novel by Sarah Vaughan, deals with politicians who believe themselves to be above the law, and the blind privilege of the ultra-wealthy. It is a twisty, slippery thing, so the specifics are difficult to discuss without spoiling it. But Sienna Miller is Sophie Whitehouse, happily married to Britain’s “most fanciable” minister, James (a brilliantly oily Rupert Friend), until they find their lives swept up in the scandal of the title.
None of these characters speak like human beings. “My darling man, where the fuck are you?” coos Sophie down the phone when her husband fails to turn up to a party. “If the future doesn’t include you, Sophie Whitehouse, then the future is shite,” he coos back, later on. Bleurgh. Maybe this is how posh people woo each other. “You think like a poet … politics could always use more poetry,” says James, but not to Sophie, which is where his most recent troubles begin. He deserves to be put in the dock for that line alone.
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