Jeffrey Epstein is back in the news with the release of the sex trafficker’s private files earlier this year, so it’s good timing that Netflix is releasing its thriller on the exposé. Unfortunately, the would-be prestige drama Scoop feels like all bark and no bite, lacking the insight or audacity to make it a meaningful entry to the genre.
Scoop tells the story of the BBC journalists who obtained the Newsnight interview with Prince Andrew about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Although this story is undeniably interesting, the film’s fundamental flaw is treating it as a nail-biting thriller when the situation’s results are so well-known. Had the movie taken a more satirical, perhaps even farcical, approach, it would have been far more compelling.
The film also struggles to straddle the line between technical and accessible. At some points, it seems like the filmmakers are interested in diving deep into the behind-the-scenes of securing a story like this; at others, it feels like they are content with showering generic praise on the journalists responsible for breaking the story. The result feels much less substantial than it should be.
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Scoop doesn’t explore its themes substantially enough
Those hoping that Scoop will be a powerful, hard-hitting exploration of the ethics of an exposé as public as the Prince Andrew Newsnight interview will be sorely disappointed. Characters raise many questions about their responsibility in this situation and the potential consequences, but the movie doesn’t engage these topics beyond the surface level.
However, Scoop is perhaps even more frustrating in how it handles its political themes. For a film supposedly praising the bravery of the journalists willing to stand up to one of the most influential organizations in the world, Geoff Bussetil and Peter Moffat’s script is awfully timid. They hardly engage with the Royal Family’s complicity in participating and attempting to cover up this scandal, and while there are mentions of other political figures (namely, Bill Clinton), they are largely spared the scorn they arguably deserve.
Thankfully, the movie has a tremendous cast to make up for the weaknesses of the script. As is often the case with films about high-profile public figures, Scoop arguably works best as an acting showcase for its ensemble. Granted, they are essentially impersonations — since they have a rich well of material to pull from — but Gillian Anderson and Rufus Sewell both give very strong turns.
There are also a few really solid technical aspects to the movie. As one would expect, the makeup work is one of the MVPs, transforming these actors into the real-life people they play. Sewell, in particular, disappears into his role. Some sequences also effectively use cross-cutting to create tension.
Scoop definitely has some elements deserving of merit, and it’s mostly entertaining, but it lacks the depth and substance that this story deserves. Ultimately, it’s the type of “timely” drama that will get a lot of buzz in the week following its release but be forgotten in the annals of the Netflix library soon after. It definitely will not have the lingering impact of the material that inspired it.
Scoop hits Netflix on April 5.
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Rating: 6/10
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