MovieChat Forums > Scandal (1989) Discussion > Anyone find the casting of this movie od...

Anyone find the casting of this movie odd?

posted 16 years ago by jd-276
14 replies | jump to latest

Let's look at it:

John Hurt as Dr Stephen Ward...good choice,
Ian McKellen as John Profumo...good choice,
Jeroen Krabbe as Evgeniyi Ivanov...good choice.

So far, so good. BUT...

Joanne Whalley as Christine Keeler...good looking and met the part well but too old,
Bridget Fonda as Mandy Rice-Davies...not good looking enough though had similar facial expressions and English accent only passable but again, too old,
Britt Ekland as Mariella Novotny...this is just plain weird. Ekland was born the same year as Novotny and by 1989, when the film was made, she was more than twice Novotny's age when these events took place. In fact, Ekland was older when she made this film than Novotny was when she died!

These girls were teenagers. That's half the point of the story.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] zeligtony 13 years ago

I think the casting was perfect- all around. The roles of Christine and Mandy could never have been played, as well rounded, by a teenage actress. The characters needed that touch of "maturity" which I don't think could have been pulled off by younger actresses. Also, I think Bridget's English dialect was spot on.

[–] sirjeremy 13 years ago

I think that with the exceptions of Eckland and Fonda, everyone was cast perfectly. When filming, Joanne Whalley was only a few years older than Christine Keeler and didn't look any older than mid 20's (and Keeler herself looked older than her years back then, as did Mandy Rice-Davies).

Bridget Fonda's American accent came through time and time again - I think she was a last minute addition as they didn't go with Emily Lloyd (or she backed out) at the last minute. I feel Lloyd would have done the part justice. Fonda was too distracting.

I feel ambivalant about Ekland's casting - Mariella Novotony was such a peripheral character in the film so it doesn't matter much to me and she did fine with what she had. However when I subsequently found out that Novotony was raised in England and was about the same age as Keeler and Rice-Davies, I was certainly shocked!

[–] Prismark10 13 years ago

There was a bit of stunt casting. Bridget Fonda who badly delivered a famous line and Roland Gift from Fine Young Cannibals springs to mind.

Its that man again!!

[–] sirjeremy 12 years ago

I know what you mean about the stunt casting. Bit distracting, especially Britt Ekland. I must get round to listening to the two commentaries on the DVD to see what the director and producer say about it.

The line delivery from Bridget Fonda you're talking about, wel lI always found that odd, especially as I've read alot about the people involved and I assumed Mandy Rice-Davies would have said that line in a cheeky way.

[–] willjohn 11 years ago

Mandy Rice-Davies was described as "bubbly" in the press at the time of the trial.
Columnist Jim McDougal referred to her as "Mandy Rice-Bubbles".

[–] intuitsteve 11 years ago

Fonda was definitely miscast.

[–] zeligtony 11 years ago

I disagree... she was perfect as Mandy. She also received a Golden Globe Nomination from the Hollywood Foreign Press, so I'm not the only one who thought she did a great job.

[–] jd-276 11 years ago

She can't have been perfect if others think her accent was poor.

I watched it again the other night and I think it was worse than I remembered. It probably sounds quaintly "British" to Americans but to people like me who have lived there, it just grates.

But I admit, there's more to acting than accents. I still think she was badly cast though. She was supposed to be 16!

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] jd-276 9 years ago

I don't know of any English dialects which sound like that.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] jd-276 9 years ago

No offence taken. Just MHO.

I have seen only mixed reports. It doesn't really make a lot of difference to my own opinion.

[–] 9 years ago

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