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The Scapegoat

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6.4/10 • 77

2012-09-091h 40m

MysteryDramaAdventure

Two men, one face.

In 1952, as England prepares for the coronation, two very different men have one thing in common—a face.

Directors
Charles Sturridge
Writters
Charles Sturridge
Editors
Charles Sturridge, Adam Green

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Matthew Rhys

    Matthew Rhys

    John / Johnny

  2. Jodhi May

    Jodhi May

    Blanche

  3. Eileen Atkins

    Eileen Atkins

    Lady Spence

  4. Sheridan Smith

    Sheridan Smith

    Nina

  5. Andrew Scott

    Andrew Scott

    Paul

  6. Phoebe Nicholls

    Phoebe Nicholls

    Charlotte

  7. Anton Lesser

    Anton Lesser

    Father McReady

  8. Eloise Webb

    Eloise Webb

    Mary Lou

  9. Pip Torrens

    Pip Torrens

    George

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Aug 7, 2023

6/10

The competent actor that is Matthew Rhys plays his own doppelgänger in this initially intriguing but ultimately rather flat thriller set in the UK just before the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. "Standing" is a teacher who spends a night on the lash with his stunt double "Spence" - a man he had never seen before he bumped into randomly. Awakening next morning with a thick head, he finds "Spence" has fled taking his own identity with him. Before he has much chance to think things through, he finds himself subsumed into the identity of the other man - a wealthy, family man with plenty of skeletons in his closet. Was this all a stitch up? Is he being played? Well "Standing" has no way of knowing unless he immerses himself in his new life and hope that he can get to the truth before he is rumbled. Now I don't know about you, but if my husband came home one evening but he was his own identical twin I like to think I'd still be able to tell the difference? What also makes the premiss of this a bit persistently questionable is the ease with which he manages to impersonate a man about whom he knows nothing. I'm all for thinking on your feet, but this verges a bit too much on the preposterous and as it continued I really did lose interest. It does look good and presents a solid cast including Dame Eileen Atkins, Phoebe Nicholls and the usually reliable Anton Lesser, but for me the story hit the skids of far-fetchedness after about half an hour and left me largely disinterested.

Media

  • The Scapegoat poster
  • The Scapegoat poster
  • The Scapegoat poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
coronation