World is much more dangerous place than many of us would like to think and even the pettiest of events can lead to catastrophic consequences. This is the premise which serves as basis for the plot of Defence of the Realm, 1986 British political thriller directed by David Drury. The plot begins on August 9th 1984, on the night when terrorist attack in Turkey causes US military in Europe to go on alert. At the same night two youths in Eastern England escape from juvenile detention facility; one of them is caught by police and another jumps over the fence and ends on what appears to be a runway. Months later Dennis Markham (played by Ian Bannen), highly respected left-wing Labour member of Parliament, gets embroiled in a scandal when newspapers discover his visits to a prostitute. Same woman was visited by a East German diplomat suspected of being a Soviet spy, so Markham, accused of compromising national security, is forced to resign. The article that caused resignation had been written by Nicholas “Nick” Mullen (played by Gabriel Byrne), ambitious young reporter. His older colleague Vernon Bayliss (played by Denholm Elliott) used to be Markham’s good friend and claims that Markham was framed. Mullen doesn’t think much of it until he sees Bayliss’ apartment ransacked after which Bayliss dies, apparently of heart attack. Mullen becomes intrigued and discovers that Markham investigated the death of one of the boys and apparently discovered connection between that incident and some strange and disturbing events at USAF base containing bombers armed with nuclear weapons. Mullen wants to run the story, but it also becomes apparent that someone high up in the government would stop at nothing to prevent the truth being revealed to public and Mullen begins to fear for his life.
Script by Martin Stellman was partially inspired by the real Cold War events like the infamous Profumo affair (which would few years later be covered by Martin Caton-Jones’ Scandal) and series of incidents involving US bombers and nuclear weapons which were, just like the one in film, mostly successfully hushed up by British government. Defence of the Realm was, however, made in mid-1980s, during the height of Cold War and Margaret Thatcher’s government which many British intellectuals saw as increasingly authoritarian. Combination of Cold War paranoia, government conspiracies and nuclear technology make this film in many ways similar to Edge of Darkness, famed BBC miniseries which was originally aired roughly at the same time. Drury, on the other hand, takes part of inspiration on classic journalistic thriller All the President’s Men, but unlike that film, based on Watergate fairy tale, this one takes much more realistic and, consequently bleaker approach. Unlike the enterprising reporters that brought down US President, protagonist of this film seems helpless against dark and powerful forces, and, to make things even worse, at times is easily manipulated and even collaborator with what is nowadays known as the Deep State.
David Drury directs this film well, putting limited resources to good use. He maintains good pace, never allowing Defence of the Realm to get boring despite the lack of conventional action. The cast is also good, although Gabriel Byrne seems a little bit underwhelming compared with the small army of British character actors that play his colleagues and superiors. Denholm Elliott is the most impressive among them and creates many sympathies for his troubled character. On the other hand, character of Markham’s secretary, played by Greta Scacchi, seems to be in this film only because creators thought that they had to have pretty female in it. Uninspired music score by Richard Harvey, on the other hand, makes this film sound quite pedestrian. The greatest disappointment comes at the end, with a finale which is both unconventional and confusing. Although flawed, Defence of the Realm is mostly entertaining and intelligent film that can make viewers contemplate certain uncomfortable facts of the world, which are as relevant today as they were many decades ago.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/ Leofinance blog https://leofinance.io/@drax.leo Cent profile https://beta.cent.co/@drax Minds profile https://www.minds.com/drax_rp_nc Uptrennd profile https://www.uptrennd.com/user/MTYzNA
Unstoppable Domains: https://unstoppabledomains.com/?ref=3fc23fc42c1b417 Hiveonboard: https://hiveonboard.com?ref=drax Rising Star game: https://www.risingstargame.com?referrer=drax 1Inch: https://1inch.exchange/#/r/0x83823d8CCB74F828148258BB4457642124b1328e
BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7
