#FIRSTLOOK: “STONEHOUSE”

Based entirely on true events that took place in the ’70s, Emmy winner Matthew Macfayden (Succession) stars as disgraced MP John Stonehouse in this three-part Mini-Series directed by Jon S. Baird (Stan & Ollie). We witness Stonehouse‘s downfall as he’s accused of fraud and espionage.

While all this appears rather sensational, it all actually happened. Stonehouse was blackmailed by the Czechoslovakian government, who framed him for having an affair. Desperate to protect his squeaky-clean family man image back in the UK, he agreed to becoming a spy for the Eastern Bloc. As he continues to make gains in his political career, he forms clandestine relationships (including an affair with his secretary) which threaten to destroy everything he has built. A cloud of suspicion forms around Stonehouse both at home and in the public eye. Hoping to escape it all, he devises a ridiculous clumsy plan to stage his death which is unsuccessful. And thanks for that, we have a twisty, darkly comedic story.

Though the history books already have been written and Stonehouse has faced the music for his antics, we cannot deny this is a fascinating glimpse at a story that might not be as well known in these parts. Nonetheless, thanks to a fully-committed performance from Macfayden, we really get into Stonehouse‘s murky headspace and the pressures of being ambitious and the political forces that controlled him. Stonehouse may be a deeply-flawed hero, but he is a mesmerizing one.
 

STONEHOUSE arrvies January 17, 2023 on Britbox Canada.

(Photo/video credit: Britbox Canada)