National Treasure: A disturbing story of our times
In Channel 4’s arresting new drama National Treasure, Robbie Coltrane plays one half of a much loved comedy double act whose career comes crashing down after the police nick him for alleged historical sex abuse.
Robbie Coltrane in National Treasure
In Channel 4’s arresting new drama National Treasure, Robbie Coltrane plays one half of a much loved comedy double act whose career comes crashing down after the police nick him for alleged historical sex abuse.
In real life, would grumpy old geezer with a walking stick Paul Finchley be quite so popular? On the Ant & Dec chirpy scale, he scores about one out of ten.
That said, Coltrane’s portrayal of a stunned celebrity suddenly staring into the abyss of national disgrace is spellbinding. As his long-suffering wife Marie, Julie Walters delivers a similarly understated but powerful performance. You couldn’t hope for a better pair of actors to chronicle this disturbing story of our times.
In an all too familiar scenario, Mrs and Mrs Finchley endure the unexpected knock at the door and the full forensic search of their house as the cops rummage around for evidence of a possible rape 23 years ago. Boxes of possessions, computers and phones are removed in the humiliating glare of publicity. The modern equivalent of the handcuffed perp walk. Creating the image of guilt.
Naturally, Paul is not charged. Instead, his so called “Sex Shame” is splashed across the front pages while the intrepid police wait to see whether or not any more potential victims come forward. The human flypaper technique that in the vast majority of cases doesn’t work but does ruin the lives of the poor sods who are accused and then left hanging in the wind.
Ask Cliff Richard, ask Paul Gambaccini, ask Jimmy Tarbuck, ask Jim Davidson, ask Freddie Starr… all of whom faced many months of unimaginable stress before the crack historical sex crime Plods finally conceded there was no reason to prosecute them.
The fictional Paul Finchley’s treatment, however, may not be so unjust. As seven more women emerge from the mists of time to insist that they too were assaulted by the genial TV personality it becomes clear that he’s not such a nice guy off screen.
A serial philanderer with a penchant for prostitutes, he’s far from the perfect husband. But marital unfaithfulness isn’t the same as being a predatory monster. Paul’s wife realises he’s a rat but doesn’t believe he’s a rapist.
Sadly, it looks as if she’s wrong. I’ve only seen two of the four episodes so I don’t know how it pans out in the end. But Paul’s past relationship with his little girl’s teenage babysitter is already looking decidedly dodgy. And the action is pointing towards a vindication of the human flypaper approach.
Compelling though National Treasure undoubtedly is, it might have been slightly more interesting if our shamed hero was totally innocent. The obscenely delayed exoneration of numerous stars of a certain age is also a disturbing story of our times. Real victims deserve justice. But should the police be allowed to wreck lives on pure hearsay? Discuss.
Squirming coppers overcompensating for their abject failure to stop Jimmy Savile’s half-century reign of sexual terror have caused untold misery. Sure they got Stuart Hall and Rolf Harris. And they nailed Dave Lee Travis for grabbing a girl’s boobs in 1995. But who else?
With no evidence whatsoever, police forces are currently empowered to arrest whoever they want and then go fishing for anything that might make a case. If you’re a well-known contemporary of Fix It Jim, be afraid.
Why should Sir Cliff Richard have to struggle through two years of hell without being charged with a single offence? At the very least he should have had the right to anonymity. But then the cops wouldn’t have been able to orchestrate the sinister media campaign to unearth more alleged victims.
Arrest first, find the evidence later. That can’t be right. Whatever happened to the good old bobby on the beat? Dixon of Dock Green must be spinning in his grave.
As it examines all the painful ramifications of Finchley’s excruciating predicament National Treasure delivers gripping television. The fallout affects not only him – he is dropped from his TV quiz show and shunned in showbiz circles - but also his poor wife and their troubled daughter Dee (Andrea Riseborough).
This is the stuff of nightmares. Does the big man deserve it? Perhaps. But his family certainly don’t and yet they are facing their own harsh sentence. A kind of guilt by association. Incredibly unfair. But that’s the way it is.
After another bruising encounter with the boys in blue, the shattered comic isn’t laughing. In the depths of despair, he sighs: “They think I’m f***ing Jimmy Savile.” No, Paul. But they think they can persuade a jury that you are. Owz about that then?
There are 3 Comments
National Treasure
Well well well, it was only a matter of time before a drama hit our screens relating to historical sex abuse. It has been highlighted so much in the press in recent years, with many a career and family broken over alleged allegations against innocent people. But then you have to remember the Savile's and Harris's of this world too. No one was shocked when those two were found guilty, they had looked guilty for years.
Robbie Coltrane is a master of his art and pairing him with the equally amazing Julie Walters is casting genius. I agree with you though about hoping the man is innocent and that this drama brings home how damaging allegations and hearsay can be. Its the way the world is these days, people will do anything for their five minutes of fame. What a sad and twisted world we live in.
GA x
Your review is spot on
I would only say - it MUST have two endings - both Guilty and Not Guilty and the subsequent events. It would not be fair to have only one ending as both are possible and actually I think it would be creatively best too.
NOWHERE TO HIDE! 'NATIONAL TREASURE' - episode one review.
By Andy Lloyd
A tremendous first instalment of a four part drama series starring Robbie Coltrane as much loved comedian Paul Finchley, who is accused of rape dating back to the 90s. It was a narrative about the cult of celebrity, fame and unquestionably Operation Yewtree. The latter being a police investigation that looked into sexual abuse allegations, predominately the abuse of children by British media celebrities. The most infamous example here of such an abuser is the late Jimmy Savile.
Coltrane gave an absolute acting masterclass in his role as Paul, what with both his comedy persona dismantled and his human dignity crumbling. First, we saw him at an awards ceremony being loved and admired by his peers. He was the classic comedy performer wracked with tonnes of self-doubt though. He worried to his wife Marie, played by the always brilliant Julie Walters, that he had made a fool of himself on stage rather than being funny.
We saw his comedy persona in full force as he obliged and delivered his very well-known comedy catchphrase to a taxi driver who pestered him incessantly to do it. This was all in stark contrast to when he later refused an identical request some time afterwards, his world now in utter turmoil following his arrest. Coltrane was superb as a man whose world had been turned upside down because of the sexual allegations made against him. He was disorientated, desperate and his life now stripped bare with nowhere to hide.
Along with Robbie Coltrane and Julie Walters, I thought Paul's solicitor Jerome Sharpe played by Babou Ceesay, was great in his role. He was amusingly direct and very upfront with Paul. It did make me laugh when one minute we saw him go on a swearing rant about the media and police, then the next greet Paul's wife Marie, politely as a choirboy.
It was very well written and very acted but it was its distinctive style that made it standout for me as a fantastic production. Stylistically speaking, this is one of the strongest television dramas that I have ever seen. The striking sound and mise-en-scene elements(camera, lighting, staging etc), at times made it remind me of an art house film.
In terms of this distinctive style, there were deliberate repetitive close-up shots of inside the front door when it was knocked on from the outside. Accompanied with menacing music, the camera edged slowly towards the door warily. This put us in the shoes of Paul and how he was feeling. It gave connotations of claustropbia, victimisation and trepidation at who was on the other side of the door.
Throughout there were numerous close-up shots of Paul Finchley's face, particularly when he was being interviewed by the police. These shots served to further magnify the point that here was a man stripped of all his former dignity. He had nowhere to hide, his jolly comedy mask had now been replaced by one of extreme vulnerability.
There were several attempts to convey the sense of disorientation that Paul was experiencing following the allegations made against him. For example, in the police interview room sunlight glaring through the windows was sharp and blinding. Sound was pivotal here too. There was this impressive scene where we saw Paul walking down a street but around him was great cacophony of echoey street noise. We heard birds singing loudly and a motorbike at full throttle whizzing past. Again, all done to magnify this uncertain new world that Paul now found himself in.
The most striking visual image of the entire first episode was when the ending credits were rolling. Here we saw a horrified looking Robbie Coltrane as Paul, half naked from the waist up having a shower. The significant thing here though was that the water traveled upwards rather than downwards upon him. This gave me connotations that rather than having a shower to wash away his sins, the water traveling upwards signified that his sins were now being revisited. It was another clever stylistic tool that heightened the impact of the piece.
Overall, an excellent drama that makes episode two an absolute must-see. Paul Finchley has NOWHERE TO HIDE, which thus makes this such an intriguing watch! 4/5.