Stonehouse (2023) User Reviews

Such an interesting story, worth watching.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 13 January 2023]

The story of disgraced former Labour MP and Minister John Stonehouse, who got involved in several criminal activities, and later vanished.

It is well worth seeing, it's such an incredible story, if it wasn't based on true events, it would be deemed far fetched, but based on actual events.

It has some nice touches of humour, there are some really amusing scenes mixed in to the more serious elements.

Matthew Macfadyen gives an excellent performance as Stonehouse, there's a scene in episode three, where he delivers a speech, it is an outstanding moment. Keeley Hawes is excellent as wife Barbara, but she is turning into Olivia Colman, who really is in everything.

Well worth looking at further material, interviews and such featuring him, he's an interesting character, it gives you an idea of how Macfadyen captured him as well.

It's well worth your time, 8/10.

Fully enjoyable

[Silicone54 · 7/10 · 13 January 2023]

A short mini-series was just the right amount of time for this particular story. Never knew or even heard of this affair before so it was fun to learn some fun facts.

I enjoyed the cast and cool vibe of the scenery. The lead is really good every time he's in a bind he bumbles around until he squirms his way out. Sheila the secretary is actually the female lead. I think they could have delved some more into her background. I needed to understand how she was so easily wrapped up in Stonehouse's capers. A bigger focus on the spying aspect would have made this a 9 perhaps a 10 for me.

It was a fun series and you learn something of this obscure bit of history.

Indulgent binge watch

[cathyannemoore-66196 · 8/10 · 10 January 2023]

Very watchable as the portrayal of real life characters is done well. Betty Boothroyd and Harold Wilson should have their own spin off series they were that good and some of their lines were very amusing. Keeley Hawes is always good at playing a middle class wife and she adds a bit of tongue in cheek nuance to a brilliant performance to match the plot. Which if it wasn't true, this story would be considered far fetched. What is also captured well is the 1970s so as someone who lived through this there is a wonderful sense of nostalgia. I highly recommend it as a binge watch to indulge yourself with.

Watch the documentary

[crumpytv · 7/10 · 8 January 2023]

My overall impression was that it was good.

Then I watched the companion documentary and I realised that Matthew Macfadyen's characterisation of John Stonehouse was completely false He portrayed him as whimsical and naive, but in truth he was very ordinary, devious and calculated.

Keeley Hawes performance as Barbara Stonehouse was flat at best and when I saw the real person in the documentary she bore little resemblance at all to the portrayal.

In reality she was blonde and had a very upper crust BBC accent. There was no attempt at portraying her in this way in the drama.

In the end the plaudits must go to Kevin McNally (Harold Wilson) and Dorothy Atkinson (Betty Boothroyd), both outstanding.

When the reality can be so easily researched on the Internet I cannot understand why they fiddle with the real story. E.g the ending.

A shame really, but the documentary (The Real John Stonehouse) was more interesting.

Stonehouse

[seanbass-21826 · 3 January 2023]

Watching the titles of this drama and hearing the music, I was reminded of Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can, but once I got past that, I found a strange but compelling tale that is so well played.

The pairing of MacFadyan and Hawes as John Stonehouse and his long suffering wife was superb. She had the tough job playing the dutiful wife of a prominent politician who had to cope with her husband's infidelity while trying to keep the children happy.

However, in my mind, Kevin McNally as Harold Wilson steals the show in every scene he is in.

It is not the truth, but one version of the truth and for that, it deserves a watch.

Enjoyable

[gallagherkellie · 7/10 · 18 February 2023]

This was a fun watch. Matthew Macfayden is great in everything he's in, he was the draw card to get me to watch this. And he was great in this too. His real life wife played his tv show wife and also did great.

I didn't know anything about this story before watching the show. I've since done some reading and it seems pretty accurate.

At only 3 episodes it was the perfect length. It's kind of a dark comedy/drama. Doesn't take itself too seriously. It's a light, entertaining mini series that I'd recommend.

The facts of this case are pretty absurd so it's the perfect story to make a show about.

Whimsical and funny.

[ronlda · 7/10 · 31 January 2023]

My wife i are enjoying this light hearted whimsical version of what was no doubt a very serious situation in the history of English Parliament. There are indeed a lot of blanks to fill and there is absolutely no building on any of the characters except John Stonehouse, his wife and girlfriend Sheila. His poorly thought out and executed escape plan falls apart very rapidly and it's shear gaul and outrageous behavior that both gets him into and out of his various predicaments. Not everyone seems to particularly care for the light hearted almost flippant manner in which this story unfolds but as longtime fans of British humor, we love it and find it a welcome change of pace from the normal fare.

A Whitehall Farce.

[leslie-murphy · 6/10 · 2 January 2023]

Not sure that such a serious situation for the government and his family should be treated so lightly. To be fair, I've only seen the first part of the first episode but it already seems that the husband and wife team of McFadden and Hawes are playing for laughs in a Whitehall Farce. More substance and gravitas may emerge but it's really going to be difficult to take these characters, or perhaps I should say, caricatures, seriously.

On the plus side, it is rather refreshing to see the ITV station ridiculing the Labour movement rather than the usual BBC barrage against the Conservatives.

Lighthearted humbug.

Quirky & brilliant!

[philadams-98723 · 9/10 · 6 January 2023]

This 3 part ITVX series is just an absolute hoot! This true story is just so bizarre it's hard to believe it really did happen. I went online to further study the case & the series does mostly stick to the actual story.

The characters, actors, soundtrack & cinematography are just all top notch. There are also quite a few laugh out loud moments. The 70s hairstyles & fashion are so expertly recreated. The leads are superbly cast & it is all perfectly wrapped up in 3 episodes.

It reminds us of all the too many UK political scandals. Do yourself a big favour & make time to watch this most entertaining series.

What a turnaround

[sharp-jane · 10/10 · 13 January 2023]

Brilliantly written and acted. All through the first episode I was scoffing how stupid he was. Too greedy. How dare he treat his wife and family that way! 2nd episode I was thinking how the psychiatrist was giving him a way out, what a conman, and how he deserved some prison time. By the end of the 3rd episode I just felt so sad for him. He obviously did have a point. I think today he would've been more understood, mental health plays a big part in this telling. So sad that he seemed to just be getting his life together, for it to be snatched away. Great acting by all especially Matthew who got the balance exactly right.

Empty Story Comical at Times

[canterburybella-680 · 2/10 · 23 February 2023]

If you didn't know anything about Stonehouse before, you wouldn't know much by the end of this series. Matthew M. Was entertaining and very good in a comedic role, but that's all that I can say that was good about it. Was it improvised? Was there even a script? Everything was so lean, with no meat on the bones of this skeleton.

We learn nothing of what happened to his wife, how she survived financially while he was away or in jail. He couldn't afford the house or private schools for his children, she didn't work, so how was it that they continued to live a life they couldn't afford then? A proper writer might have actually thought to explain some of this. A lost opportunity with lazy production.

Top notch comedy/drama based on a true life 1970's political scandal

[JRB-NorthernSoul · 8/10 · 2 January 2023]

Stonehouse hit the right tone from the off. Its a true story about a crooked politician in Harold Wilson's government but has mischievous fun with its subject matter.

Production values were excellent all round, direction by Jon S Baird was assured, it had a whip-smart script by John Preston (who wrote 'A Very English Scandal') and the score by Rolfe Kent was great.

Viewers under 60 will ask who Stonehouse was - but you don't need background knowledge to enjoy this excellent drama. In a sense Stonehouse represents every entitled politician though the ages who's been caught out and skewered.

So much better than I expected, thoroughly recommended - its entertaining, very funny and Mathew MacFadyen is outstanding as Stonehouse.

Brilliant

[charliegalloway · 9/10 · 7 January 2023]

ITV is on a roll with high quality dramas after the excellent Anne ,comes this gem .

The direction has a knowing and crisp feel , the script is truthful but very witty , the musical score superb .

The acting is fabulous , every member is good but standout is Macfadyen , whose lugubrious and dishevelled charm , (his voluminous hair seemed to have a life of its own ) ,captures the essence of an old school charmer who can't see his terrible behaviour for what it really is . The politics of the time were captured really well , Harold Wilson was spot on .

ITV deserve a lot of credit for putting together great creative teams and let's hope they continue with this level of quality .

A bit of a yawn to be honest

[wisewebwoman · 5/10 · 22 January 2023]

This Documentary of John Stonehouse, a government minister in Wilson's cabinet who went on the run and disappeared himself is truly unremarkable and touching the boredom meter bigly.

And also a bit of a muddle. With enormous holes. And maybe those holes were never resolved in real life.

Surely a forensic audit would have sorted the excessive spending, surely the wife would have copped to the said spending going way beyond their means: boarding schools, huge manors of houses, etc.?

There should have been floodlights around his corruption and his myriad bank accounts.

There was no one to engage with apart from the harried Harold Everyone was dislikeable and self-centred.

Wilson and his sidekick Betty, frantic to squelch the fraudulent idiot (and he does come across as a simpleton most of the time) are wonderfully cast and give it all they've got.. It leaves more questions than it gives more answer.

5/10. Extraordinarily ho-hum.

A delight from start to finish

[stevenmckinstry · 9/10 · 6 January 2023]

John Stonehouse's fall from grace is a sad story, and the mildly comedic flavour of this production might be seen as inappropriate. But the fact is that his actions and attitudes were indeed somewhat farcical, and the writer, director and actors manage very well to stay just this side of playing it for laughs. Its roots in reality are never lost, and the viewer is left with a sense of pity and despair for Stonehouse, and sympathy for his family and others affected by his misguided decisions.

In a wider sense, the series highlights how someone short on common sense, but long on ambition and greed, can do well in politics by presenting a confident and convincing facade. I like the way Harold Wilson is portrayed as seeing Stonehouse as a good image for the Labour Party because he is handsome. And how he makes him Minister for Aviation because he'd been in the RAF for two years. I've no reason to think this is inconceivable, and it's an amusing reflection on how some of our current crop of politicians got where they are.

So full marks to everyone involved. The period detail is very impressive, taking me back to my younger days in the early 70s. The husband and wife team of Keeley Hawes and Matthew MacFadyen are superb as the Stonehouses, Emer Heatley does a marvellous job as Sheila Buckley the secretary, and Kevin McNally's portrayal of Harold Wilson is uncannily accurate.

A lighthearted romp!

[TomFarrell63 · 9/10 · 8 January 2023]

As soon as the music starts you know this isn't going to be a dour, miserable drama, and the proclamation about things being dramatised, means it isn't going to be historically accurate , but none of that matters a jot, this is pure entertainment! Makes such a change from the number of dark dramas on TV these days.

The character of Stonehouse is wonderfully played by Matthew McFadyen, sometimes you despair at how unaware of his own ridiculousness he is, but then the next minute, you're rooting for him!

The ever dependable Keeley Hawes is excellent as the hard done to, but ever loyal wife.

Have to say the entire thing just flew by for me, which is always a good sign , and I'll certainly rewatch in the future.

More boring than the truth

[paul2001sw-1 · 5/10 · 9 January 2023]

Life is sometimes stranger than fiction. The story of John Stonehouse is truly remarkable, the tale of a former government minister who faked his own suicide, but whose plan to build a new life in Australia was foiled when someone suspected he was Lord Lucan (a British aristocrat to disappeared around the same time, probably after murdering his children's nanny). This drama has already been criticised as inncurate by Stonehouse's family: they say he was never as wealthy as portrayed, was never a spy, and was suffering from mental breakdown when he disappeared. But regardless of accuracy, the choices made in this series are dramatically unsatisfying. You could tell a story of a man indeed undergoing mental disintegration; or of a brilliant fraudster; or simply the tale of someone who comes to find their position unbearable, and takes a wild gamble out of utter desperation. Instead, Stonehouse is presented as a preening, presumptious fool, and the story is played mostly for comedy. In fact, the drama resembles last year's programme about John Darwin, a much more obscure figure who also "did a Stonehouse". True or not, an extraordinary story is rendered dull if the basic explanation offered is simply that the protagonist was an idiot. That said, I did enjoy Kevin McNally's portrayal of Harold Wilson, the Labour leader cursed with having Stonehouse as one of his MPs.

Good story retold

[perdyhorse · 9/10 · 21 January 2023]

Best acting to Wilson and Boothroyd portrayal. I've seen real archived footage of the story so I thought Matthew and Keeley (although brilliant actors ) did not capture the real people. I think that storehouse was a clever and devious person. The script wrote him to be a bit stupid and naive.

Good watch though. Really enjoyed it. Good story. Feel sorry for his children.

I think his daughter wrote a book. I wonder if this is based in that book.

I don't have much more to add but I'm 100 characters short so I'll just say again, it's really well worth watching and the acting is fantastic as is to be expected from this cast.

Power, Corruption and Lies

[peterrichboy · 8/10 · 5 January 2023]

The amazing story of John Stonehouse says everything you need to know about political life in the 1970s. A labour MP starts work on his way up the ministerial ladder happily married with children, Stonehouse goes on the journey of self destruction first of all getting embroiled as a useless spy for the Czech government.

All of a sudden the money dries up labour lose the election and Stonehouse is dropped as a spy on the money dries up and he finds him self in a whole heap of trouble.

From here on in is the stuff of legend even though I was only a young boy when this took place, I remember it very clearly and this TV series, brings this remarkable story to life.

Matthew McFadden is perfect as the corrupt politician, whilst Kevin McNally as Harold Wilson and Keeley Hawes are excellent in the supporting cast.

Written by John Prescott the program strikes a nice balance between humour in fact. 8/10.

Disappointing portrayal

[qcvqcsvbp · 3/10 · 27 January 2023]

Too young to remember the events I can't tell if the nation thought this saga was funny at the time. As such, I found the portrayal of the MP as a bungling, inept buffoon as unnecessary. The addition of comedic sounds whenever the protagonist appears is irritating. Close to unwatchable. I can imagine this story being gripping if retold as if the main character was clever, calculating, manipulative and deceptive. There's room in the true events to add suspense and anger.

One the plus side, the wardrobe and props were fabulously 1960's. The acting was ok, especially the interactions with Stonehouse with his wife. Not for me this one.

Tom Wambsgans fan? You'd like this.

[julieshotmail · 9/10 · 4 June 2023]

My appreciation for Matthew Macfadyen is not just due to his skillfully nuanced portrayal of Tom Wambsgans. Not being familiar with him before "Succession," I truly thought that he was an American actor doing justice to a complex affluent-wannabe character on TV. Macfadyen steals many scenes in that show through his dramatic and comedic acting chops, earning him an Emmy. I am sold and I am a big fan. But then I learn that he is actually British! So off I go searching for his other shows on British TV, and I arrive at "Stonehouse." What a delight. He completely embodies this different character, effectively vacillating from meekness to aggression when the situation calls for it. His speech in episode 3 is something to behold and enjoy. "Stonehouse" is a high quality package of a show with its three well-told and entertaining episodes. And you have Macfadyen topping it off like icing on a cake.

Watched this only because Matthew McFayden was in it

[grandeldress · 8/10 · 31 January 2023]

Didn't know anything.about John Stonehouse so had no idea what this movie was about, but as a fan of McFayden I was eager to watch it. And when I saw Keelie Hawes in this credits, knowing the two of them were married I was really interested. It was a different role & look for Matthew, but I think he did a great job of playing this man. Whether the script was accurate to reality I cannot say but John Stonehouse was a complex person to say the least. Was he an arrogant narcissistic? A fool? Naive? Calculating? At certain times in this piece I considered him all of those things. Most likely suffering from some sort of mental illness. I liked it.

Farce or drama?

[catnapbc · 5/10 · 14 April 2023]

For a story, such as this is, the way it was presented in this mini-series in such a light-hearted way, was really disappointing. Having seen a few Pink Panther movies in my time, the music here, almost constantly, reminded me of those farcical films. Even the acting, apart from Kevin McNally, is either over-the-top or just wooden. None of the characters felt 'authentic' and although the period details are quite accurate, I doubt very much that the 'real' people involved in this sad episode of British politics were/are as dim or naive as presented. I think an actual documentary about this event would better serve to give us all a better insight into the whys and whens. If you watch this purely as some fictional bit of 'comedy' (not always funny though), then you will enjoy it perhaps. I struggled through the first 2 episodes but couldn't stomach the last one. What a waste of talent and a potentially much more interesting and serious subject than what this provides. A shame.

Very entertaining

[daveditch-53291 · 9/10 · 6 January 2023]

This mini series is very well written , very well cast , and very well played all round . If you're wanting 100% yes minister or alternatively 100% historical accuracy it's probably not the series for you . It sort of falls somewhere in the middle and is extremely entertaining , ranging from cringeworthy "did he do that " moments to out and out laughter. There are some brilliant momemts supported by excellent quips and one liners " you are the worst spy .........ever " . Some series about characters of this era fall into the trap of showing the lead as either an anti hero , deserved of sympathy or a complete criminal . Again this falls in the middle and leave you to draw your own conclusions . I've only knocked it down from 10 to 9 because I feel there's some elements in the life of Stonehouse they could have made more of and would have fitted superbly into that emotional roller coaster. ( No spoilers lol ) . However that does not stop it being totally watchable , entertaining and extremely good TV .

Another winner from John Preston

[amandafrostmarginson · 9/10 · 5 February 2023]

Loved and binged this. Fabulously acted by Matthew McFadyan who has a lot of fun playing John Stonehouse as buffoonish, roguish, and slippery, with a touch of the Walter Mittys... yet somehow likeable and Keely Hawes empathetically channelling his simmering and long-suffering middle-class wife. Casting of Kevin R McNally as Harold Wilson was inspired...the best portrayal of the PM yet... his quiet chats with Betty are lovely. Characters are humorously observed, for example, the speech impediment of Stonehouse's secretary, Sheila Buckly. Also amusing is the culture contrast with Australia and Stonehouse's encounter with the canny Melbourne police and his visit to a jazz bar called Strange Fruit. Astonishing that this juicy biopic hadn't been made before. Highly recommended.