The story of Jeremy Thorpe, a popular liberal politician in the UK who was also a deeply closeted gay man, is well known in Britain, although perhaps less so in the US. Thorpe came to prominence while homosexuality was still illegal in Britain, and which, even after it became legal, remained for many years something that could destroy a politician’s career. Perhaps it’s not that surprising that Thorpe, who was paying off an increasingly demanding former lover for years, eventually decided that he had to get rid of the young man. The murder plot is almost too amateurish to be believed, although it sticks pretty close to the facts.
Hugh Grant, an often annoying actor, is almost perfect here as Thorpe, a guy who seems to literally believe that the good work he can do as a senior government official justifies almost any level of deception, even almost any crime. Ben Whishaw, one of the finest British actors of his generation, is similarly outstanding as the young man.
Recommended. On Amazon Prime.
