Salting the Battlefield

Last updated

Salting the Battlefield
GenreDrama, Thriller, Crime, Action
Written byDavid Hare
Directed by David Hare
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerCelia Duval
Running time93 minutes
Production companies
Release
Original network
Original release
  • 27 March 2014 (2014-03-27)

Salting the Battlefield is a 2014 British political thriller television film, written and directed for the BBC by the British writer David Hare. It follows Page Eight , which aired on BBC Two in August 2011 and Turks & Caicos , which aired in 2014. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Plot

Following their flight from Turks and Caicos, Johnny Worricker (Bill Nighy) and Margot Tyrell (Helena Bonham Carter) hopscotch around Europe to evade capture by MI5. After spotting one of his former recruits, disguised as a passing jogger, Johnny relocates once again and instructs former colleague Rollo Maverley (Ewen Bremner) to leak news of Prime Minister Alec Beasley's (Ralph Fiennes) corrupt dealings with Stirling Rogers (Rupert Graves) and his Bridge Foundation. Margot secretly keeps in touch with Johnny's pregnant daughter Julianne (Felicity Jones). In London, Acting Director General Jill Tankard (Judy Davis) contacts Deputy Prime Minister Anthea Catcheside (Saskia Reeves) and offers her services in aiding Catcheside's embattled husband.

Johnny and Margot separate on their way back into Britain to confound their pursuers. While Johnny disappears and travels via the English Channel, an errant MI5 agent runs into Margot on a train and alerts his superiors. Rollo aids Margot's escape and delivers her to Reverend Bernard Towers (Malcolm Sinclair), a friend of Johnny's from Cambridge. Johnny contacts Belinda Kay (Olivia Williams), editor-in-chief of The Independent and details the workings of the financial deals surrounding Beasley, Rogers and The Bridge. Kay's publication of the information causes Rogers to resign from the foundation and admit to his misdeeds, despite Beasley's assurances.

Julianne contacts Margot after learning that her boyfriend (Shazad Latif) was an MI5 plant who has bugged her flat. Johnny arranges a meeting with Beasley at 10 Downing Street, demanding he call off the surveillance against his daughter. Beasley reveals that he intends to leave office and assume the title of Consul General to Iran, with American funding and UN cover. Johnny is then summoned to a meeting with Tankard, who reveals that she engineered Beasley's downfall after seeing the extent of the Page Eight, the intelligence that started the scandal. Through her burying of Bill Catcheside's legal troubles, Tankard has Anthea, Beasley's planned successor, in her pocket. Tankard asks Johnny to return to MI5, an offer he reluctantly accepts in return for Julianne and Margot's safety and Maverley's reinstatement into MI5.

Back in Margot's apartment, Johnny sees Margot leaving for Hong Kong to work in a start-up. Margot mentions that Julianne is in labour, accompanied by her mother. The film closes with scenes of Margot leaving, Johnny walking across London to the MI5 headquarters, and Julianne giving birth to her child.

Cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turks and Caicos Islands</span> British overseas territory in the Caribbean

The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and northern West Indies. They are known primarily for tourism and as an offshore financial centre. The resident population in July 2021 was put at 57,196, making it the third-largest of the British overseas territories by population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Fiennes</span> English actor (born 1962)

Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal Shakespeare Company. He has received various accolades including a BAFTA Award and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and an Emmy Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julianne Moore</span> American actress (born 1960)

Julie Anne Smith, known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is particularly known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent films, as well as for her roles in blockbusters. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Emmy Awards.

<i>Family Affair</i> American television series (1966–1971)

Family Affair is an American sitcom starring Brian Keith and Sebastian Cabot that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966, to March 4, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do engineer and bachelor Bill Davis (Keith) as he attempted to raise his brother's orphaned children in his luxury New York City apartment. Davis's traditional English gentleman's gentleman, Mr. Giles French (Cabot), also had adjustments to make as he became saddled with the responsibility of caring for 15-year-old Cissy and the six-year-old twins, Jody and Buffy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baron Dacre</span> Title in the Peerage of England

Baron Dacre is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England, every time by writ.

<i>The Lost Prince</i> 2003 television film

The Lost Prince is a British television drama about the life of Prince John – youngest child of Britain's King George V and Queen Mary – who died at the age of 13 in 1919.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Nighy</span> British actor (born 1949)

William Francis Nighy is an English actor. He started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with The Illuminatus! in 1977. There he gained acclaim for his roles in David Hare's Pravda in 1985, Harold Pinter's Betrayal in 1991, Tom Stoppard's Arcadia in 1993, and Anton Chekov's The Seagull in 1994. He received a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor nomination for his performance in Blue/Orange in 2001. He made his Broadway debut in Hare's The Vertical Hour in 2006, and returned in the 2015 revival of Hare's Skylight earning a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play nomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Hare (playwright)</span> British playwright, screenwriter and theatre and film director

Sir David Rippon Hare is an English playwright, screenwriter and theatre and film director. Best known for his stage work, Hare has also enjoyed great success with films, receiving two Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay for writing The Hoursin 2002, based on the novel written by Michael Cunningham, and The Readerin 2008, based on the novel of the same name written by Bernhard Schlink.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Turks and Caicos Islands</span> Chronicle of the Turks and Caicos Islands

Before European colonization, the Turks and Caicos Islands were inhabited by Taino and Lucayan peoples. The first recorded European sighting of the islands now known as the Turks and Caicos occurred in 1512. In the subsequent centuries, the islands were claimed by several European powers with the British Empire eventually gaining control. For many years the islands were governed indirectly through Bermuda, the Bahamas, and Jamaica. When the Bahamas gained independence in 1973, the islands received their own governor, and have remained a separate autonomous British Overseas Territory since. In August 2009, the United Kingdom suspended the Turks and Caicos Islands' self-government following allegations of ministerial corruption. Home rule was restored in the islands after the November 2012 elections.

Carnival Films is a British production company based in London, UK, founded in 1978. It has produced television series for all the major UK networks including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Sky, as well as international broadcasters including PBS, A&E, HBO and NBC. Productions include single dramas, long-running television dramas, feature films, and stage productions.

<i>Carry On Cabby</i> 1963 British film

Carry On Cabby is a 1963 British comedy film, the seventh in the series of 31 Carry On films (1958–1992). Released on 7 November 1963, it was the first to have a screenplay written by Talbot Rothwell from a story by Dick Hills and Sid Green. Regulars Sid James, Hattie Jacques, Kenneth Connor and Charles Hawtrey are all present. Liz Fraser makes her third appearance and both Bill Owen and Esma Cannon make their final appearances. This was the first film in the series to feature Carry On regular Jim Dale, and the first not to feature Kenneth Williams in the cast. Williams turned down the role of Allbright due to what he considered an inferior script. The part was scaled down, and given to Norman Chappell.

The Vertical Hour is a play by David Hare. The play addresses the relationship of characters with opposing views on the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and also explores psychological tension between public lives and private lives.

Andrew Levitas is an American painter, sculptor, filmmaker, writer, producer, photographer, restaurateur, and actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margot Benacerraf</span> Venezuelan film director

Margot Benacerraf is a Venezuelan director of Moroccan Jewish descent. Benacerraf was one of the first Latin American filmmakers to study at IDHEC in Paris.

Paul Englishby is a film and theatre composer, orchestrator, conductor and pianist. He is best known for his Emmy Award-winning jazz score for David Hare's Page Eight, his orchestral score for the Oscar nominated An Education, his BAFTA nominated score for the BBC's Luther and his many theatre scores for the Royal Shakespeare Company, with whom Paul is an associated artist.

<i>Page Eight</i> 2011 television film directed by David Hare

Page Eight is a 2011 British political thriller, written and directed for the BBC by the British dramatist David Hare, his first film as director since the 1989 film Strapless. The cast includes Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, Michael Gambon, Tom Hughes, Ralph Fiennes, and Judy Davis. The film was followed by Turks & Caicos (2014) and Salting the Battlefield (2014), which were broadcast on BBC Two in March 2014. The three films are collectively known as The Worricker Trilogy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Bremner</span> American lawyer

Anne Melani Bremner is an American attorney and television personality. She has been a television commentator on a number of high-profile cases, including in the murder of Meredith Kercher in Italy as legal counsel and as a spokesperson for the Friends of Amanda Knox.

<i>The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel</i> 2015 film by John Madden

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a 2015 comedy-drama film directed by John Madden and written by Ol Parker. It is the sequel to the 2011 sleeper hit film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and features an ensemble cast consisting of stars Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Dev Patel, Bill Nighy, Celia Imrie, Penelope Wilton, Ronald Pickup, David Strathairn, and Richard Gere.

<i>Turks & Caicos</i> (film) 2014 television film directed by David Hare

Turks & Caicos is a 2014 political thriller television film, written and directed for the BBC by the playwright David Hare. It follows Page Eight, which aired on BBC Two in August 2011 and is followed by Salting the Battlefield.

<i>Dads Army</i> (2016 film) 2016 British film

Dad's Army is a 2016 British war comedy film, based on the BBC television sitcom Dad's Army. It is directed by Oliver Parker and set in 1944, after the events depicted in the television series. Catherine Zeta-Jones plays an elegant German spy, posing as a journalist, reporting on the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard platoon.

References

  1. Jeffery, Morgan (3 May 2013). "Bill Nighy, Christopher Walken for BBC Two's 'Page Eight' sequels". Digital Spy. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  2. Williams, Holly; Finamore, Emma (29 December 2013). "Coming soon in 2014: A look at the year ahead in arts". The Independent. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  3. Power, Vicki (15 February 2014). "From heart-tugging wartime sagas to gritty cop shows: 10 dramas you must see this spring". Daily Express. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  4. "Carey Mulligan and Bill Nighy to play ex-lovers in West End play". BBC News. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.