Scoop (2024) follows in the mold of Spotlight (2015); another descendent of All The President’s Men (1976). These films focus on journalists working to get the truth out to the public against deadlines, cover ups and conspiracies. Scoop specifically follows the events leading up to and the immediate aftermath of Newsnight‘s 2019 interview with Prince Andrew (played by Rufus Sewell).
The issue inherent to this particular story is that there is no wide ranging conspiracy to hide the truth, there is only Prince Andrew. The story of Scoop isn’t one of finding clues and making connections but rather a courtship narrative where the spunky Sam McAlister (Billie Piper) must convince the disgraced prince to submit to an interview.
Needless to say Scoop is not as suspenseful as Spotlight. Yet, director Philip Martin is able to take his work on the hit series The Crown and find a way to make the interview tense and the negotiations suspenseful. Martin does this by contrasting the rituals and morals of the palace with the political urgency of the BBC and Newsnight. Suspense lives in Scoop in the juxtaposition of the past (Prince Andrew) with the present (Newsnight).
And like The Crown, Scoop is a work elevated by the caliber of its ensemble cast. In addition to Sewell and Piper Scoop boasts the talents of Gillian Anderson, Keeley Hawes, Richard Goulding and Romola Garai. These players bring a sense of life beyond the frame to their work imbuing Martin’s suspenseful flourishes with a touch of reality and by extension relevancy.
