I ran into a stumbling block when I got to this movie later than intended. Scanning the headlines from those who got a preview of HBO Films: BREXIT, or just jumped on a published piece rather quickly, I discovered that many were denouncing it as ‘incomplete’ and ‘inaccurate.’ As you can imagine British media were at the forefront of the claim. These types of criticisms have surfaced about cinematic interpretations of historical fact many times before and I also hate how studios play with & tweak facts for a supposedly better story than the truth. I stopped short of just those headlines, but now, before even watching BREXIT, my opinions are influenced. I’m not from the U. K. so how am I going to watch this film without wondering what is the truth and what isn’t. That will certainly cloud my view of the movie. But I will still give it a go.
The result of the Brexit referendum in summer 2016 caused a political earthquake that laid waste to the normally stable British establishment and sent political tremors around the world. Benedict Cumberbatch portrays Dominic Cummings, who spearheaded the Vote Leave campaign. But he was just one hand stirring the pot. Throughout the movie, graphics popped up explaining all the players in this political game. The graphics gave us a name, position (either government or big business) and whether they were on the Leave team or the Remain one. The Leave team got more screen time. There were a lot of players involved, which is likely why they settled on just one person, Cummings, to tell the story through; that and the fact that Cummings was a difficult and frenetic personality. Rory Kinnear plays Craig Oliver, Prime Minister David Cameron’s director of communications and head of the Remain campaign. Ultimately, the tactics employed by Vote Leave during the data-driven campaign swayed a historically silent voting bloc that would ultimately decide the outcome of the referendum, as well as affecting future elections around the world. But looming its ugly head, even through the wit and farce employed, was the worry if the story was accurate.
As an example, I lift this paragraph from the DailyBeast: Shahmir Sanni, a whistleblower who was involved with Vote Leave and Be Leave, told The Daily Beast that the film had not lived up to its own billing. “The film fails to cover the reality of how Brexit was won. Yes, data was at the core of why they won, but the 
important aspect is not why but how,” he said. “They won by breaking electoral law… To miss out on this important aspect is to lure the viewer into a false belief that Brexit was won by sheer intellect and bravado.”
Even this Yank knows that laws were broken, yet the movie doesn’t address that point. And, evidently, the movie shows people meeting that never did. Now, I’m not here really to talk about Brexit, especially because I am a Yank, but to talk about the movie itself. However, the alarms going off about accuracy certainly tainted my opinion of BREXIT, but not my enjoyment of it. Toby Haynes (HBO’s FIVE DAYS and Dr. Who, among other British series) surely crafted a witty movie which will take up an hour and 38 minutes of your time. It is well-written and well-acted. It also clearly details the story or at least the parts of the story they wanted to tell. What I mean is that it is simply an easy to understand movie the way it was laid out. It could have been overwrought with just too much gravitas and would have made it all less enjoyable.
HBO Films: BREXIT, now being played across HBO’s platforms, gives us a large and impactful concept wrapped up in a well-crafted movie. Unfortunately, this gift is a bent & battered item for it is not the genuine thing. I couldn’t get into it or Cumberbatch’s performance without the nagging voice wondering if the previous scene was accurate or not. I would have much better not being encumbered with those thoughts on top of the theme of the piece. But that just might be me. BREXIT can be enjoyed and it can be informative, just not truthful.
