A Very British Coup (1989)

A Very British Bore

"A Very British Coup," a political thriller, was a 1988 Granada production for The United Kingdom's BBC4 Television channel, home of the experimental, the left-wing, and the sexually daring. It's a political drama, concerning itself with the skulduggery surrounding the tenure of Harry Perkins (Ray McAnally) at the vaunted residence of the British Prime Minister, 10 Downing Street. It was based on the novel of the same name by Chris Mullin, a reporter who was eventually elected a Member of Parliament himself, and who, accordingly, should know what he was writing about. Screenplay was by Alan Plater, direction by Mick Jackson. It was seen here on the Public Broadcasting System's "Masterpiece Theatre,"won an International Emmy, and three top British TV Awards. It consists of three 50-minute episodes. The movie is badly dated, and was long out of print before Acorn re-released it in August, 2003.

It's a fantasy, written in the waning years of the Prime Ministership of Conservative Margaret Thatcher, about what would happen if a Far Left -wing member of the Labour party, rather than the centrist Tony Blair, who did actually win election, were to win the Prime Ministership. It posits the election of down-to-earth Yorkshireman Harry Perkins, a third-generation Sheffield steelworker, to the highest office in the land. He enjoys quoting the prestigious "London Times," that called him a "simple fool" during the campaign. He comes in with an agenda appropriate to himself: close down United States military bases, break up media monopolies, and dismantle British nuclear weapons. He upsets many of the British and American powerful with this agenda: did I mention that he's anti-American?

You could consider the film the grandchild of the American Frank Capra's famous 1939 "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," in which the naïve Jefferson Smith, so memorably played by Jimmy Stewart, goes to Washington as a young man with an agenda. But it's heavily influenced by the brilliant British Boulting Brothers 1959 comedy "I'm All Right Jack," in which Fred Kite,Communist-oriented union leader/shop steward, as unforgettably played by Peter Sellers, enjoys nothing more than a chance to shut down the factory. It certainly is the direct progenitor of "House of Cards," another more successful British political drama, starring Ian Richardson, which closely followed it. And I guess you'd have to say it's the grand-dad of Sally Wainwright's meretricious 2006 fantasy, "The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard,"in which Jane Horrocks, as Ros Pritchard, Midlands supermarket manager, gets herself elected Prime Minister. Except, whereas the Perkins character has spent a lifetime in politics, has submitted himself to the discipline of his party, works himself up to high office, and has an agenda, the Pritchard character is a newbie to politics, without education in it, background, or her own agenda.

The Irish McAnally's performance in the lead role is towering, and hits all the right notes. It's one of three great performances he delivered shortly before his 1990 death: Peter Egan's conman father in the TV movie "A Perfect Spy;" and the indomitable father to the Irish Christy Brown character (as played by an Oscar-winning Daniel Day Lewis) in "My Left Foot." He's surrounded by supporting actors who are able enough, some familiar faces, but none really well-known. He is, in fact, the only reason to see this movie, which is the very model of an all-talk no action film--the first, introductory episode literally put me to sleep. You will spot a woman's face about once every 15 minutes, if you care about that kind of thing, and I do. And, what would be a finishing, disastrous touch for many, in a movie that's all talk, there are no subtitles. Sorry folks, but, unless you are a big fan of the talking heads on CSpan, this is very much "A Very British Bore."
July 27, 2008

Another Day at MI5

British political thrillers are top-notch, and this one is no exception, even if it is a product of the eighties. The Cold War may have evolved into something else, but the problem of media frenzies, covert surveillance and behind the scenes manipulation of events by secret intelligence services continues. In this scenario, when a genuine left-wing Labour candidate becomes Prime Minister, certain Tories, to protect their long-standing aristocratic privilege, pull all sorts of shenanigans to dislodge him, even resorting to blackmail, extortion, and murder.

The designers of this series are to be complimented on the sets, which reproduced the interiors of Number 10 Downing Street in a convincing manner (from pictures I have seen). The elegant imagining of the staircase, the cabinet room, and the residence stand in marked contrast to those of "The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard," in which the interiors were so nondescript that I never believed for one minute that I was actually inside one of the most famous residences in London.

A drawback of this well-acted series [Among other actors, Clive Merrison is excellent as a slick BBC news presenter who excels in lobbing loaded questions at his guests.] is its rather faded look (although this probably can't be helped since the program was made for television in 1986). The series is also dated by the device that was likely included to give the story a hypothetical aspect: it refers to a king, which, since the Queen is still with us--and long may she reign!--and the Soviet Union has folded, detracts from the verisimilitude of the scenario. The most dated aspect of the film, however, is the use of what now seem like gothic computers with LED TV-like monitors that must hold about 55k of memory (Shades of my old Apple IIe!). One wonders whether the cell phones on "The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard" will seem like dinosaurs in twenty years!

To Acorn Media's credit, they have included a lengthy audio interview with the author as well as selected filmographies. As usual, there are no subtitles.

Each episode begins with disturbing images of burning debris falling into the Thames. The full significance of these does not impact the viewer until the end credits roll. November 18, 2007

Perhaps not so dated after all?

I ordered this 3 years ago, but it wasn't until today that I made time to sit down and watch it. I saw it originally when it aired in the US back in the late 80s, and only vaguely remembered that I thought it was very impressive, and that the end was, for some reason I couldn't remember, very disturbing.

Although there are many comments that "A Very British Coup" is excellent, but dated, I find that events of the past few years, and the corresponding drop in international opinion of the US and its policies makes it very relevant today. Yes, it's very much situated at the end of the Cold War, but little seems to have changed.

And, after having seen it again, now I know why I found the end so very disturbing. It's somewhat ambiguous (wonderfully so), and I almost overlooked it completely. Only once the credits started to roll did I comprehend what my eyes and ears had seen, and how the story truly ended. Thank goodness for "rewind"!! April 9, 2007

Taut thriller

This is a great political thriller with an emphasis on "political" - an alternative history of the UK suggesting what might have happened had a Tony Benn like figure (except more proletarian) led the Labour Party to victory in the 1980s.

Ray McAnally is brilliant in the role of Harry Perkins and you'll root for him regardless of your personal politics. A bit strange at first seeing the pre-Blackadder Tim McInerry (Lord Percy Percy) as a villain but he is deliciously evil in the role.

The only downside is this is a "vanilla" DVD with no extra features worth mentioning. March 18, 2007

An unsettling dramatic thriler

This film convincingly depicts the challenges facing a (fictional) Socialist Prime Minister of England. It gives a painfully candid view of the cost of integrity and idealism, and a frightening glimpse of the limits of democratic power.
December 26, 2006

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