Possible spoilers
I knew about Mosley, or at least I thought I did. I knew he was leader of the British Union of Fascists before the war, and I knew he was interned when the war broke out as a potential traitor. I had no idea he had been such a high profile politician in Parlaiment before he became a fascist, nor that he had been a radical socialist.
This TV movie was an excellent dramtisation of his life from the end of WW1 to the start of WW2. For someone who ended up leading a fascist party, he comes across as a very sympathetic character in the first half. It is with an effort that one remembers what he turned into. The decline into intolerance, and fascism comes in the final thirty minutes or so. Johnathan Cake gives a fine performance, as do all the rest of the cast. I can't think of anyone who gave a bad one.
The writers, Marks and Gran, give a very balanced view of the man, but there are a couple of points I wish they had explored more deeply. When he was in Berlin, we see him meeting Hitler. The two men obviously thought little of each other. I could have done with a bit more information about this. And there is a scene where Mosely witnesses Nazi brownshirts bullying an old Jewish woman. He looks at the scene with horror. What does this signify? I wish the writers had elaborated.
That said, this makes excellent viewing. Worth an evening of your time.
I knew about Mosley, or at least I thought I did. I knew he was leader of the British Union of Fascists before the war, and I knew he was interned when the war broke out as a potential traitor. I had no idea he had been such a high profile politician in Parlaiment before he became a fascist, nor that he had been a radical socialist.
This TV movie was an excellent dramtisation of his life from the end of WW1 to the start of WW2. For someone who ended up leading a fascist party, he comes across as a very sympathetic character in the first half. It is with an effort that one remembers what he turned into. The decline into intolerance, and fascism comes in the final thirty minutes or so. Johnathan Cake gives a fine performance, as do all the rest of the cast. I can't think of anyone who gave a bad one.
The writers, Marks and Gran, give a very balanced view of the man, but there are a couple of points I wish they had explored more deeply. When he was in Berlin, we see him meeting Hitler. The two men obviously thought little of each other. I could have done with a bit more information about this. And there is a scene where Mosely witnesses Nazi brownshirts bullying an old Jewish woman. He looks at the scene with horror. What does this signify? I wish the writers had elaborated.
That said, this makes excellent viewing. Worth an evening of your time.