“The Trial of Christine Keeler."

“The Trial of Christine Keeler” (Max) British television series based on the chain of events surrounding the Profumo affair in the 1960s. Sorta structurally daytime soap-operatic but I like this a tad better than the 1989 movie “Scandal,” directed by Michael Caton-Jones and starring Joanne Whalley as Ms Keeler.

       The story, based on facts: Christine Keeler, an English model and a showgirl, becomes entangled in a scandal at age 21, after a series of events involving her two ex-boyfriends Johnny Edgecombe and Lucky Gordon, in combination with MI5's secret service intrigues. These combine to reveal publicly two of Christine's affairs from two years before when she was 19. Both affairs were with prominent married men – Soviet Union naval attaché Yevgeny Ivanov, and Secretary of State for War, John Profumo, at the height of the Cold War.

       If that premise doesn't interest you, I don't know what is. Sophie Cookson channeled a believable Christine Keeler: Naive, manipulative, daring, adventurous yet her vulnerability isn't hard to feel. I don't see defiant grace in her assumed headline glamour or tabloidish fame but a trapped soul desperately trying to salvage salvation from her youthful indiscretions. She didn't know what hit her until it did. 

       James Norton as Dr. Stephen Ward, an osteopath who introduces Mr Profumo to Christine is a revelation to me. A concentrated yet restrained performance. He gained acting fame in the TV series "Happy Valley.” I will go check that one out + others by Ms Cookson. I didn't notice “The Trial…” 🎥👍📽