A member of the government facing consequences for their reported actions? Netflix has classed its latest miniseries Anatomy of a Scandal<\/a> as both a psychological thriller and courtroom drama, but it requires as much suspension of disbelief as its sci-fi fantasies.<\/p>\n The scandal in this six-part adaptation of Sarah Vaughan\u2019s 2018 novel of the same name centres on James Whitehouse (Rupert Friend), a junior Tory minister who we\u2019re constantly told has the full package.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most naturally gifted politician on our side of the chamber,\u201d claims Prime Minister Tom Southern (Geoffrey Streatfeild) after finding out that his long-time friend has also now placed first on the website \u2018sexyMP.co.uk\u2019.<\/p>\n We even see James convincingly pretending to care about a pensioner\u2019s pelican crossing complaint at a constituency meeting.<\/p>\n But his picture-perfect world, which also includes a country mansion, two kids and university sweetheart wife who looks a lot like Sienna Miller, begins to collapse in on him when news breaks of a five-month affair with a parliamentary researcher.<\/p>\n \u201cDeflect and dismiss but never deny,\u201d the MP is advised by a smarmy, foul-mouthed comms director (Joshua McGuire) who could have been plucked straight from The Thick of It<\/a>. But their efforts to limit the damage falter when the other woman then accuses him of rape.<\/p>\n As a trial ensues, Anatomy interestingly focuses just as much on the prosecuting barrister Kate (Downton Abbey<\/a>\u2018s Michelle Dockery at her steeliest), who is harbouring a deep dark secret of her own, as it does the accused \u2013 and even more than on the accuser: Naomi Scott\u2019s screentime as Olivia is pretty much restricted to a harrowing testimonial which shines a spotlight on how the British judicial system tackles the issue of consent.<\/p>\n Formerly a political correspondent for The Guardian, Vaughan drew upon her own experiences of Whitehall culture in her Sunday Times bestseller \u2013 so you\u2019d think, then, that this would lend an authenticity to the various encounters that take place in the literal corridors of power. But it\u2019s difficult to imagine any of the words in Melissa James Gibson and Kelley\u2019s script being spoken by real humans.<\/p>\n Yes, that\u2019s the<\/em> David E Kelley, the American TV powerhouse who\u2019s mastered the art of both the legal drama (The Practice<\/a>, Ally McBeal<\/a>) and marriage-imploding thriller (Big Little Lies<\/a>, The Undoing<\/a>). On paper, Anatomy should have been a home run, but the 11-time Emmy winner saddles its array of deeply unlikeable characters with clunky exposition and the type of melodramatic dialogue you\u2019d expect from Mills and Boon.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were hungry for one another,\u201d James tells the court in one glaring example.<\/p>\n Anatomy\u2019s aesthetics are equally hackneyed. Most episodes conclude with a slow-motion out-of-body experience \u2013 James is blasted 10 feet backwards on learning about the rape charge; Miller\u2019s Sophie suffers a Hitchcockian fall from the stairs after hearing Olivia\u2019s declaration of love, which also borders on the comical.<\/p>\n The visual blurring between the past and the present, meanwhile, is overdone to dizzying levels, and there\u2019s a general flatness to the cinematography in keeping with the house style of Netflix\u2019s recent spate of British crime dramas.<\/p>\n As with the similarly-themed A Very British Scandal<\/a>, Anatomy was conceived as an anthology series designed to explore a different class-based injustice each season. But with Netflix execs becoming more ruthless than ever (see the recent fates of The Baby-Sitters Club<\/a>\u00a0and Archive 81<\/a>), there\u2019s a strong chance this soapy, clich\u00e9d first chapter will also be its last.<\/p> Anatomy of a Scandal premieres on Netflix<\/a> on Friday 8th April. Check out our <\/strong>Drama<\/strong><\/a> hub for all the latest news. <\/strong>If you\u2019re looking for something to watch tonight, check out our <\/strong>TV Guide<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0to get each issue delivered to your door. For more from the biggest stars in TV, l<\/strong>isten to the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a> with Jane Garvey.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/body><\/html>\n By Jon O’Brien Published: Tuesday, 05 April 2022 at 12:00 am 2.0 out of 5 star rating A member of the government facing consequences for their reported actions? Netflix has classed its latest miniseries Anatomy of a Scandal as both a psychological thriller and courtroom drama, but it requires as much suspension of disbelief as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Jon O’Brien Published: Tuesday, 05 April 2022 at 12:00 am 2.0 out of 5 star rating A member of the government facing consequences for their reported actions? Netflix has classed its latest miniseries Anatomy of a Scandal as both a psychological thriller and courtroom drama, but it requires as much suspension of disbelief as…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/13331"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/04\/Anatomy-of-a-Scandal-Naomi-Scott-805b2b8.gif?quality=90&resize=620%2C425"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
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