An unusual tale of mistaken identity based upon the novel by
Daphne de Maurier, The Scapegoat stars Matthew Rhys as a man who
encounters his doppelganger and unwillingly trades places with him,
leading to a completely different life with his double's family,
including Andrew Scott, Eileen Atkins, Sheridan Smith and Jodhi
May. The film was first broadcast on Sunday September 9 2012,
and is now available on DVD in the UK.
It's a very tricky thing to attempt to tell a story whose very
beginning could be construed as ridiculous if badly handled, but
the new adaptation of The Scapegoat manages this trick with
relative ease, despite a few close shaves. Much of the success of
the production can be laid at the feet of the cast, all bringing a
gravity to proceedings that enable the film to stay on the right
side of absurdity.
Matthew Rhys plays the dual roles of John Standing (the
well-meaning good one) and Johnny Spence (The caddish bad one) with
a suitable layer of respective bewilderment and devilishness. Of
the two, John has the longest screen time in the film, and so we
follow his journey from befuddlement at his sudden insertion into
this ongoing social situation, through to his growing attachment to
his double's wife, brother, mother, sister in law, and precocious
daughter that enable him to begin to right wrongs with all
concerned. The actual differences between the two men are very
slight, mostly told through patterns of behaviour and the clothes
they wear, but Matthew is able to communicate them both well -
despite the removal of mechanisms from the book that enable us to
tell them apart, such as nationality and a burnt hand, we're never
in any doubt which man we're listening to at any time, and that is
a testament to Matthew's skill as an actor.
Eileen Atkins is second billed in the film, and as Spence's
matriarchal yet bed ridden mother, brings a degree of pith and wit
to proceedings. The presence of this cuckoo like version her son
spurs her to action later in the film, a mark of the impact
Standing has upon the family. Below Atkins lies a group of women
that Spence has clearly manipulated beyond reproach. Sheridan Smith
takes the most screen time of the three as Spence's sister in law
Nina, exuding ferocious sexuality but also a degree of
vulnerability. Alice Orr-Wing is Spence's wife Frances, clearly
damaged and manipulated by her husband to a frightening degree, but
rescued by the arrival of John Standing. Add Sylvie Testud as
Spence's French mistress in town, and Phoebe Nicholls as the highly
observant family housekeeper, and you begin to get a sense of the
complexity of the situation Standing finds himself in, and that's
not even considering the fact that his doppelganger has spent his
life constantly bullying his sister Blanche, played by Jodhi May,
and has effectively cuckolded his own brother, played by Andrew
Scott.
While perhaps slightly relegated to the background at times as
part of the ensemble, Andrew brings a subtle layer of frustration
to his role as Paul Spence, a man in the shadow of his sibling.
Unknowingly betrayed by his real brother, one of the strengths of
the film is the aforementioned righting of wrongs by John Standing,
and in the case of Paul the result is a growing brotherly bond
between the two. Andrew works well with the material he has, making
Paul a quiet man who is gradually brought out of his shell through
simple kindness from John, only hinting at the resentment that
existed previously which is in turn extinguished as events
proceed.
The cast are thus beyond reproach, but we have to
acknowledge that some rather dramatic changes have been made from
de Maurier's original story, many of which refit the adaptation
significantly and in turn change the direction of proceedings. Much
of what is jettisoned are layers of introspection, darkness, and
grit that emerged from the time period, and most of that is due to
the change in location from France to Britain - in the novel the
Spence family are actually the le Comte's, a family of French
aristocrats, and John's double is instead Jean, who is revealed to
have executed collaborators during the Second World War. The change
in venue streamlines the film, but also removes much of a sense of
time period - here instead we have the Coronation of 1952 as a
touchstone, but apart from the opening and close of the piece much
of the era itself feels lost - it could appear to be late Edwardian
at times. Also missing from the book is John intentionally burning
his hand in a fire to avoid the shooting party - an act which of
course adds a physical distinction between the two men - and major
changes to the ending of the story, which effectively produce the
complete opposite of events from the source material.
All of this aside, it's best to look at The Scapegoat as an
actor's piece rather than a narrative one. If you can suspend your
disbelief at the initial set up to the story - one that arguably
works better in literature, where your mind's eye is the only
vision you can see events with - you'll find a film filled with
strong performances that manage to really bring the piece to life.
By the close, there is a sense that the film could really have
benefitted from an extended running time so we could come to know
these characters even better, and that's not something we say
often.
The Scapegoat is available on Region 2 encoded DVD in the
UK. You can order the DVD from Amazon UK here. For
International Delivery Information from Amazon UK, check here. Please note you will need a Region
2 or multi-region enabled player to view the disc. We recommend
checking www.google.com with
your player model number to check options for region unlocking.