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The Scapegoat (2012 film)

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Director
  
Charles Sturridge

Story by
  
Daphne du Maurier

Duration
  

Language
  
English

7.2/10
IMDb

Genre
  
Drama

Music director
  
Adrian Johnston

Country
  
United Kingdom

The Scapegoat (2012 film) movie poster

Release date
  
9 September 2012 (2012-09-09)

Based on
  
The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier

Writer
  
Daphne Du Maurier (story), Charles Sturridge

Cast
  
Andrew Scott
(Paul),
Jodhi May
(Blanche),
Eileen Atkins
(Lady Spence),
Matthew Rhys
(John / Johnny),
Sheridan Smith
(Nina),
Phoebe Nicholls
(Charlotte)

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,
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
,
Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
,
Sissi: The Young Empress
,
The Man Who Would Be King
,
The Yellow Rolls-Royce

The scapegoat 1959 official trailer alec guiness bette davis crime movie hd


The Scapegoat is a British film adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's 1957 novel of the same name. The drama is written and directed by Charles Sturridge and stars Matthew Rhys as lookalike characters John Standing and Johnny Spence. It was broadcast on ITV on 9 September 2012.

Contents

The Scapegoat (2012 film) movie scenes

The novel was first adapted into film in 1959 by director Robert Hamer, with Sir Alec Guinness playing the parts of John Barratt and Jacques de Gué.

The Scapegoat (2012 film) wwwgstaticcomtvthumbmovieposters9439679p943

The scapegoat 2012


Plot

The Scapegoat (2012 film) The ScapeGoat 2012 Amandas Camelot

There are significant differences between this adaptation and the original novel. Whereas the action of the novel takes place in France, this screen version is set in the UK in 1952 as Britain prepares for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Scapegoat (2012 film) Andrew Scott in The Scapegoat Review News Sherlockology

Teacher John Standing, who has just lost his job, meets his doppelgänger Johnny Spence, a failed businessman, in a hotel. Standing is encouraged by Spence to get drunk and the next morning wakes without his clothes and wallet and with Spence gone. Collected by George, the chauffeur to the Spence family, he has difficulty explaining himself and is taken to the family's grand home. He is quickly drawn into family and business affairs and is forced to deal with Spence's business problems and the women in his life: his wife, mother, sister, young daughter, and two mistresses (Spence's sister-in-law Nina, and Bela, a French artist who lives in the nearby town).

The Scapegoat (2012 film) Ferdy on Films

The family glass business is failing, and Standing staves off the inevitable by pretending to have signed a contract with a major customer. He finds that Spence's younger brother, Paul, is capable but lacking in confidence, whilst his sister, Blanche, hates Johnny, whom she blames for the suicide of her close friend. Standing discovers that the only money available to save the business is a trust fund belonging to Spence's neglected wife, Frances, but the trust pays out only if Frances has a male heir or she predeceases her husband. Spence, curious as to what is going on in his absence, returns to the house to retrieve his gun and sees Standing sleeping with Frances. Astonished, he uses their (John and Frances') improved relationship to his advantage.

While Standing is out at a shooting party lunch with the rest of the family, Spence manipulates Frances into taking an overdose of morphine so that he can claim the trust fund and save the glass business. She willingly submits, sacrificing herself to save her family. Her daughter, "Piglet," sees them together and confronts Standing, still mistaking him for her father. Standing rushes to the house to find Frances barely alive; he revives her with help from Charlotte, Spence's mother's caretaker.

The Scapegoat (2012 film) The Scapegoat 2012 YouTube

Standing confronts Spence at the glass foundry. Spence offers him a share of the money, but Standing refuses, so Spence forces him at gunpoint to exchange clothing, planning to kill him and dispose of his body in the foundry. A struggle ensues, and Spence is killed. Standing returns to the house, intending to disappear, but is dissuaded by Charlotte, who has seen through him. In the final scene, Standing is seen with the Spence family, including a pregnant Frances, watching the Coronation on a newly acquired television set. This ending differs completely from the novel.

Cast

The Scapegoat (2012 film) Andrew Scott in The Scapegoat Review News Sherlockology

  • Matthew Rhys as John Standing/Johnny Spence
  • Eileen Atkins as Lady Spence, Spence's mother
  • Alice Orr-Ewing as Frances, Spence's wife
  • Andrew Scott as Paul, Spence's brother
  • Sheridan Smith as Nina, Spence's sister in law
  • Jodhi May as Blanche, Spence's sister
  • Eloise Webb as Mary Lou, Spence's young daughter
  • Sylvie Testud as Bela, Spence's mistress
  • Anton Lesser as Father McRready
  • Pip Torrens as George, chauffeur
  • Phoebe Nicholls as Charlotte, housekeeper
  • Production

    The Scapegoat is the first film production for Sarah Beardsall and Dominic Minghella's production company, Island Pictures. Filming on The Scapegoat began in London in November 2011.

    Location filming for the film was carried out mainly at Knebworth House in Hertfordshire.

    Home media release

    A region 2 DVD was released on 10 September 2012.

    References

    The Scapegoat (2012 film) Wikipedia
    The Scapegoat (2012 film) IMDb The Scapegoat (2012 film) themoviedb.org