Drama
Maxwell Friday 04 May
9:00pm - 10:30pm
BBC2 London & South East
There's a telling scene early in this drama about larger-than-life press baron Robert Maxwell. While dining with business associates on the roof of his Mirror Group HQ, he invites them to join him in taking a leak over the edge of the high-rise building. "Don't the people below notice?" someone asks. "No-one notices anything!" Maxwell replies cheerily, something he might also be saying of his shady approach to business and the plunder of his employees' pension funds. David Suchet brilliantly captures the ursine pomp of Maxwell and his fruity growl. (Given Bafta's fondness for impressions - six of the eight acting nominations this year are for real-life roles - he'll do well next year.) He also conveys the desperation that sets in as Maxwell's business empire starts to unravel and he becomes a haunted figure, bugging his own staff and pursuing his secretary (My Family's Daniela Denby-Ashe, also superb). It's a memorable performance in a gripping tale of business chicanery on a grand scale. One quibble: whoever thought of casting the wide-eyed Dan Stevens (from The Line of Beauty) as a city finance director needs to get out more.
RT reviewer - David Butcher
VIDEO Plus+: 5452
Subtitled, Widescreen, Audio-described
Written by Craig Warner
Cast
Robert Maxwell - David Suchet
Betty Maxwell - Patricia Hodge
Kevin Maxwell - Ben Caplan
Andrea Martin - Daniela Denby-Ashe
Basil Brookes - Dan Stevens
Richard Baker - Duncan Bell
Ron Woods - Tony Turner
Peter Laister - Stuart Organ
Bob Cole - Adrian Scarborough
Nick Davies - Tim Wallers
George Wheeler - Geoffrey Hutchings
Farquhar - Jamie Parker
Irina - Olga Fedori
Jennings - Joanna Scanlan
Trevor Cook - Philip Fox
Security guard - Justin Pierre
Journalist - Kay Curram
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