Scoop is directed by Philip Martin a director who’s done a lot of made for TV movies and TV work such as Mo (2010), Bloodlines (2005), Hawking (2004) and a few others.
Scoop is a dramatic retelling of how the BBC was able to get a TV interview with Prince Andrew in 2019 which focused on discussing his relationship with Jeffery Epstein. As well as the allegations of Andrew’s sexual assault of a minor (which in early 2022 was settled out of court for a 12 million settlement). The interview instantly went huge online and 5 years later is still talked about.
Scoop is one of those movies where it’s hard to comment on, not because the movie is anything crazy or you have no idea what’s going on. But because this is a very basic rundown of how the BBC got the interview just with actors, a script and more dramatized. It’s basically “journalists doing their job” the movie which while it’s nice to see some insight into the journalism aspect something we don’t often see in many films. The movie itself is a huge slog to get through granted Billie Piper as Sam McAlister is quite great and Gillian Anderson as Emily Maitlis is especially great during the interview which is the film’s final moments.
The interview itself is quite great, it’s easily the best part of Scoop and is more than likely the reason why someone would watch this movie. But unfortunately by that point Scoop is practically over and what came before the interview is incredibly lacking. The movie being incredibly surface level doesn’t do it any favors either, it’s the equivalent of someone doing one hour of research (I’m being very generous with an hour) and then not wanting to go further on a project.
To be fair the movie itself is actually an adaption of a 2022 book called Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews which was written by former Newsnight editor Sam McAlister. I have not read the book, but I’m sure the book goes into far more depth than the movie does.
Overall if you really want to see the Prince Andrew interview just watch the actual interview, it’s far more interesting and informative than anything Scoop has to offer. Outside of some decent performances and a strong enough portrayal of the interview, this one is entirely forgettable and will leave the mind as soon as it’s over.
Scoop is available on Netflix.
3/10 D-
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