‘Anatomy of a Scandal’ Review: David E. Kelley’s Star-Studded Thriller Goes Spectacularly Off the Rails

Netflix‘s Anatomy of a Scandal is the type of show that will leave you with a hangover. You’ll blissfully binge through all six 45-minute-long episodes of the series, gasping at wild twists and screaming at least one bonkers reveal, and then look back with a sour feeling of regret. Anatomy of a Scandal appears to be glossy, important fare on the surface. It’s got an esteemed cast of British stars, David E. Kelley as a writer/producer, and S.J. Clarkson doing some honestly fascinating direction. However, once you sit with the show’s ludicrous ending, you’ll feel as bamboozled as Sienna Miller‘s Sophie Whitehouse does through out the series.

Don’t get me wrong: Anatomy of a Scandal is a banger of a tawdry thriller, but it’s maybe not the elevated fare its creative team clearly thought they were bringing to life.

Based on the best-selling novel by Sarah Vaughan, Anatomy of a Scandal tells the story of a picture perfect  family that quickly finds itself falling apart. James Whitehouse (Rupert Friend) is a brilliant and dashing Conservative politician on the rise. He’s best friends with the Prime Minister and has a fairy tale-like marriage to Oxford sweetheart Sophie. It’s then revealed that James has been having a months-long affair with a twenty-something office underling named Olivia Lytton (Naomi Scott). A devastated Sophie stands by her man before the press, but then things turn dark. Olivia has accused James of raping her. Prosecuting the case? The calm, cool, and confident Kate Woodcroft (Michelle Dockery).

Much of Anatomy of a Scandal treads the same path as Ridley Scott’s recent film, The Last Duel. Both that film and Anatomy of a Scandal look not only at the ways in which society — and the law — conveniently ignore the testimony of women, but how much sexual violence exists in the grey area of perception. The case being prosecuted is that while Olivia and James had a consensual affair for months, one encounter quickly crossed the line. Olivia is emphatic that it was assault while James is dumbfounded by the charge. The difference is where The Last Duel keeps its focus on Jodie Comer’s Marguerite, Anatomy of a Scandal doesn’t really care about Olivia as a person. The story soon becomes about the tensions between Sophie, Kate, and James.

Throughout Anatomy of a Scandal, Sophie is haunted by what she does and doesn’t know. James’s affair, and later his trial, leaves Sophie feeling as though she’s been gaslit during her whole marriage. She understood James deployed his charm to woo constituents, but she believed that he was always transparent with her. As Sophie replays their whole relationship, she finds herself constantly returning to their college years. At Oxford, James was universally beloved, but there were hints of darkness. James and his toff “Libertine” friends would misbehave without consequence. Is history repeating itself in the here and now? Even wilder: Could James be telling the truth?

The thing that’s frustrating about Anatomy of a Scandal is that it’s ostensibly about serious issues like sexual violence, entitlement, and grey areas of the law, but it’s actually just a stupidly breezy thriller. I enjoyed burning my way through the show, even as the plot meandered further and further away from all common sense. There was something exhilarating about watching Michelle Dockery, Rupert Friend, and Sienna Miller deliver nuanced performances all while the story flew off the rails.

It’s worth noting that Anatomy of a Scandal is merely latest pulpy page-turner that David E. Kelley has adapted for the small screen. Starting with Big Little Lies, and continuing on with shows like The Undoing and Nine Perfect Strangers, Kelley has created this niche for himself as an impresario of glossy, star-studded trash. And Anatomy of a Scandal fits snugly in this pantheon. (I would say it’s far better than Nine Perfect Strangers but nowhere close to the excellence of Big Little Lies Season 1.) Like those other hit miniseries, Anatomy of a Scandal puts the elite through their paces for our entertainment. The question I’m left with, though, is could Anatomy of a Scandal be something more? There are glimpses throughout the series of a less soapy, more stately piece of television.

Anatomy of a Scandal isn’t good, but, damn, it is entertaining. Like any paperback novel you’d pick up at an airport newsstand, Netflix’s Anatomy of a Scandal isn’t for all time, but it does make for a good time.

Watch Anatomy of a Scandal on Netflix