|
Michael Dobbs, who wrote the original novel on which this drama is based, had
worked as a political reporter in the US during the Watergate scandal prior to
rising through the ranks of the Conservative Party. As such, he was able to
pepper his tale with insightful and realistic touches, but in truth, Andrew
Davies, who adapted the work, makes House of Cards his own. The black humour
which laced his earlier screenplays such as Lucky Sunil (BBC, 1988) and Mother
Love (BBC, 1989) adds an entertaining edge to the four-parter, and he redefines
Francis Urquhart as a much less sympathetic character, who survives the mass of
machinations, unlike his literary blueprint who is killed at the close of
Dobbs' novel.
The pacey and at times melodramatic plot is engaging but it is Ian
Richardson's BAFTA-winning central performance which makes House of Cards so
compelling. His depiction defines menace and cold cunning but his ultimate
success lies in his ability to make Urquhart simultaneously loathsome and
likeable. The audience may be repelled by his ruthlessness, but his wit,
coolness, preening intelligence and conspiratorial asides to camera combine to
make this minister a strangely charismatic monster.
Richardson based his character on Richard III, and the serial offers other
Shakespearian touches. Urquhart's wife is clearly a modern version of Lady
Macbeth, the clandestine court intrigues suggest many of the history plays and
the minister's candid confessions to the audience - a device Davies used again
in Moll Flanders (ITV, 1996) - are also reminiscent of Elizabethan drama.
By good fortune, the serial was screened during late 1990, coinciding with
Margaret Thatcher's fall from power. It proved a ratings winner and an immediate
favourite with the critics; Urquhart's oft-used, evasive reply, "You might well
think that; I couldn't possibly comment" swiftly became common political
parlance in the UK. The drama also proved an international hit, scoring highly
in the US, where Davies won an Emmy for his screenplay.
House of Cards concludes with Urquhart on the verge of becoming Prime
Minister, and his tenure at Number 10 is explored in the two sequels, To Play
the King (BBC, 1994) and The Final Cut (BBC, 1995).
Gavin Collinson
|
1. The PM's embarassing brother (3:13)
