'The Reckoning' follows, in flashback, a series of increasingly harrowing events that made up the life of Jimmy Saville. The effective thing for me, having grown up in an era when not only Saville, but other personalities were subsequently revealed as private perverts, is that the revelations about his private personality fit exactly with my memories of him on television. Unlike Rolf Harris, for example, who came across as loveable and avuncular, Saville's onscreen personality always had a hard edge to it. Stories of 'being feared in every girl's school across the land', T-shirts emblazoned with 'I'm An Animal', a fondness for girls over women because 'they don't know as much' were happily flaunted on his television appearances. So seeing him disappearing back stage after an episode of 'Jim'll Fix It' with a young boy into his dressing room is horrible to watch but not entirely unsurprising.
Hiding in plain site, indeed. His confidence increased the more he got away with his crimes, and in turn, his net of victims widened. This highly polished, grim docu-drama never allows us to see what happened behind closed doors, but we're left in no doubt. And yes, Steve Coogan is brilliant in the role. What a brave performance.
The main criticism I've seen of this is that it wasn't a straight documentary. Once it became a professional drama, critics have said, it becomes 'entertainment', which it should surely never be? I can sympathise with that point of view, but I honestly feel that if we just had a series of talking heads describing events, we wouldn't be allowed to feel the horror and revulsion of the unfolding dramatic events. Certain liberties were taken with what happened, but an interesting inclusion is the suggested fear Saville had of the afterlife and his subsequent punishment. Of course, his public persona never showed an ounce of self-doubt, and that undoubtedly contributed in him getting away with it. Perhaps his private remorse was included to make us viewers feel that there may be an element of karma, a possible reassurance that ultimately, he will have paid a price.
Hiding in plain site, indeed. His confidence increased the more he got away with his crimes, and in turn, his net of victims widened. This highly polished, grim docu-drama never allows us to see what happened behind closed doors, but we're left in no doubt. And yes, Steve Coogan is brilliant in the role. What a brave performance.
The main criticism I've seen of this is that it wasn't a straight documentary. Once it became a professional drama, critics have said, it becomes 'entertainment', which it should surely never be? I can sympathise with that point of view, but I honestly feel that if we just had a series of talking heads describing events, we wouldn't be allowed to feel the horror and revulsion of the unfolding dramatic events. Certain liberties were taken with what happened, but an interesting inclusion is the suggested fear Saville had of the afterlife and his subsequent punishment. Of course, his public persona never showed an ounce of self-doubt, and that undoubtedly contributed in him getting away with it. Perhaps his private remorse was included to make us viewers feel that there may be an element of karma, a possible reassurance that ultimately, he will have paid a price.