IMDb RATING
7.5/10
3.3K
YOUR RATING
A portrait of Lord Longford, a tireless British campaigner whose controversial beliefs often resulted in furious political debate and personal conflict.A portrait of Lord Longford, a tireless British campaigner whose controversial beliefs often resulted in furious political debate and personal conflict.A portrait of Lord Longford, a tireless British campaigner whose controversial beliefs often resulted in furious political debate and personal conflict.
- Nominated for 5 Primetime Emmys
- 16 wins & 32 nominations total
Photos
Charlotte West-Oram
- Downing Street Secretary
- (as Charlotte West Oram)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaTo look as much as possible like the real Lord Longford, Jim Broadbent wore a prosthetic nose and chin that took two hours to apply each day. A prison guard who had known the real Lord Longford was once very startled when Broadbent entered the prison door in costume. To make himself walk very slowly and lamely when Longford sees Myra Hindley for the last time in the movie (when the character is 92 years old), Broadbent put small, painful stones inside his shoes.
- GoofsOpening scene: clock in radio studio reads 2:17; radio host announces time check as 2:15. Same scene at end of movie: clock is the same, radio host's time check is 2:20.
- Quotes
Myra Hindley: I'm trying Frank, to know the God that you know. But if you had been there, on the moors, in the moonlight, when we did the first one, you'd know, that evil can be a spiritual experience too.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2007)
Featured review
We should, it is said, forgive but not forget. But some deeds are so monstrous that we can only forgive by forgetting. In some senses, no murderer deserves to ever be let out of jail. But we, as civilised humans, achieve nothing but our own degradation by keeping old people who offer no further threat to society imprisoned; and forgetting may be the only we way can square this circle. But Myra Hindley's crimes were never forgotten, partly because they were peculiarly horrible, but also because she became a hate figure for the popular press. Logically, Hindely has the same rights to be at least considered for parole as any other prisoner; but no politician was ever going to end their careers by demanding it. None, except for Lord Longford, an elderly, egotistical do-gooder with a spectacular capacity for making bad calls. The common belief, supported at least in part by this film, is that manipulative Hindley played Longford for all he was worth. And yet the principles that hard cases make bad law and that justice is not vengeance are surely important and right. But a more pragmatic (or less messianic) figure might have chosen an easier terrain on which to fight this battle.
In this biopic of Longford, Jim Broadbent captures the man's physical characteristics perfectly, although the voice is still his own. Samantha Morton, always a brave actress, keeps her cards close to her chest as Hindley. Though generally following received wisdom, it's overall effect is cautiously sympathetic to Longford, and encourages one to think again about the meaning of justice, maybe more effectively than Longford himself did.
In this biopic of Longford, Jim Broadbent captures the man's physical characteristics perfectly, although the voice is still his own. Samantha Morton, always a brave actress, keeps her cards close to her chest as Hindley. Though generally following received wisdom, it's overall effect is cautiously sympathetic to Longford, and encourages one to think again about the meaning of justice, maybe more effectively than Longford himself did.
- paul2001sw-1
- Oct 28, 2006
- Permalink
Details
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content