Maxwell

I was at Highbury Stadium the night of Maxwells disappearance was announced on tv. I reckon it was suicide. The chickens had come home to roost. Prison would have awaited his return. David Suchet gives a fine performance as Maxwell. Maybe slightly over the top but that was Capn Bob. Bombast and arrogance mixed with a machiavellian nature.

'Maxwell' depicts, in a fictional manner, the last few months of the businessman Robert Maxwell, prior to his mysterious disappearance from his yacht in 1991. It is set almost entirely in Maxwell's offices, revealing his taste for luxury and opulence, and, as a result, would work very well as a play.

The title character, understandably, dominates the film and appears in almost all of the shots. Even when he is offscreen, his presence is there as the other characters are inevitably talking about him. In some instances, he is effectively 'present' as he is listening to them through the bugging devices that he planted in the offices and telephones of his closest associates. This demands an actor of serious presence and convincing gravitas; fortunately, in David Suchet the film has such an actor, able to combine Maxwell's seductive charm (including his low, gravelly voice) with his sharp mind and his dominating, bullying personality. Although the crude, 'macho' Maxwell is a long way from the fastidious, effete Hercule Poirot that Suchet is often associated with, he is still convincing in the role.

The question that arose after Maxwell's death was, 'How was he able to get away with what he did to such a degree and for so long?' and this film skilfully answers that in a realistic and meaningful manner. Whilst his subordinates may or may not have been as innocent of direct involvement in his illegal activities as the film insinuates is another matter, but his intimidating manner and clever manipulation of his assets - like a magician - made it credible that he could conceal his activities so well. The difficulty of standing up to him is revealed - those around him were not portrayed as weak, sycophantic lackeys; the way that he bullied his son in front of his senior colleagues or the 'Daily Mirror' editors was a not-so-subtle hint of how they could expect to be treated were they to defy or disagree with him themselves.

If this was based upon a fictional character the film could be criticised for being somewhat repetitive and lacking in imagination, with some of the 'minor characters' such as his wife and son, his personal secretary and the newly-appointed financial director (who tries to make sense of the deliberately complex 'Maxwell empire') being shown as somewhat one-dimensional individuals. However, the fact that Maxwell was real and his activities are a matter of (recent) historical record makes the film compelling, albeit chilling, to watch.

My Review - Maxwell Streaming on Prime My Rating. 8/10

Maxwell is a BBC tele movie I hadn't heard of till reading an article about its star David Suchet who plays Robert Maxwell the Czech born British media baron who was in direct competition with Rupert Murdoch .

Based on some factual events that script writer Craig Warner has cleverly embellished for dramatic effect .

Maxwell " portrays the last few months of a driven egomaniacs life and how he manipulated and intimidated his executives and family to bend to his will.

Robert Maxwell's character who in life was a former member of Parliament as well as being a suspected fraudster and spy could easily have been the inspiration for Logan Roy the character that Brian Cox portrays so beautifully in Succession .

The family characters are even similar and some fine performances from Ben Caplan as Maxwell's son Kevin who lives in his fathers shadow plus an all time favourite of mine British actress Patricia Hodge who plays Betty Maxwell the wife who has reached her use by date as far as Maxwell is concerned.

It's a very interesting cast we even get to see Dan Stevens (3 years before Downton Abbey) as Basil Brookes the young account executive who tries to reason with his megalomaniac boss.

David Suchet who plays Robert Maxwell is a superb character actor I always enjoy his performances. I've seen him play roles ranging from his signature role as Hercule Poirot to Lady Bracknell and even cast as a dynamic Vatican Cardinal Benneli on stage in Sydney in The Last Confession.

He excels playing powerful men and Robert Maxwell who was obviously a powerful but repellent British tycoon who turned money laundering into an art form.

This 90 minute movie is so well done and a credit to all involved including Director Colin Barr.

Cap'n Bob became prominent in 1984 when he purchased the Mirror Group Newspapers which he used as his own publicity machine and their pension fund as his own loot.

Maxwell also embellished his own personal history, a Czech born émigré who claimed to speak perfect English in a matter of weeks. Maxwell fought for the British army and later became a Labour MP.

David Suchet when he is not playing ace sleuth Poirot has a fondness for playing real life, over the top personalities with a dark even a malevolent streak.

Here he plays a slightly trim Maxwell. Its obvious Suchet has skipped a strict KFC only diet to play the obese Maxwell.

This Maxwell eats a lot. He also fights a losing battle with his girth as he uses plush towels to wipe himself at the toilet and having a testy relationship with his wife.

At the office he quietly but ruthlessly humiliates his own son in the boardroom before showing him how to negotiate down the price of newsprint.

However spiralling debt would lead to Maxwell's demise as he strived to become a global player and be a rival to Rupert Murdoch.

It was noticeable that on the day he died, the then editor of the Independent Newspaper, Andreas Whittam Smith was the first person to state that the Mirror Group as well as the other Maxwell companies will be broken up as they were heavily in debt.

Here we see a Maxwell hurtling towards disaster, running out of options, and becoming paranoid. A ruthless crook raiding his staff pension funds.

Suchet plays to Maxwell's contradictions. He wants to be part of the establishment but it does not want him.

Maxwell, the man of the people doing so much for charity but then with a banker, urinating from the side of his skyscraper on to the people on the street below.

Suchet does not want to portray Maxwell as a pantomime villain as he had a rough charm with his cynicism.

At the age of 23 i can remember when Robert Maxwell died, this TV film does a great job of explaining some of the mystery behind the man, David Suchet is superb as the control Freak that is Captain Bob.

Anyone who likes the Wallstreet "greed is good" type will enjoy this, but spare a thought for the people who lost pensions, and a good quality of life in their old age. Cant wait for the DVD!

The tenacity of the man is quite superb in terms of business, but also a sense of a man craving someone to love him (which is apparently quite an apt observation from what I've read about him). The way in which people around him never seem to be able to truly work out what he is going to do is truly the sign of a mans true power. Pension stuff aside is he really worse than Rupert Murdoch (Maxwells great enemy)?