Backhander: The Poulson Affair
- TV Movie
- 2007
- 1h
YOUR RATING
Photos
Storyline
Featured review
An interesting and accessible even if it didn't convince in regards its relevancy
A documentary looking at the character of Poulson who, despite hardly being able to draw a straight line, opened a firm of architects in the 1950's and embraced the opportunity offered him by the building site that the UK became after WWII. His rise was nothing compared to his fall though as his bankruptcy and subsequence trial exposed a lifetime of bribery and corruption in regards civil servants and politicians at a local and national level.
Lots of things happen in history in fact things that are "newsworthy" are happening right now as I sit typing this review; however this is not to say that all of them will be remembered or are worth looking back on fifty years later. I wasn't sure if Poulson was worthy of looking back but only because I knew nothing of him or what he was involved in. In this regard the film didn't totally convince me that this was worthy of being remembered because it failed to make a case of the relevancy of looking back at Poulson in terms of appealing to a wider audience. As a documentary fitting into a season of films about modern architecture then it does more of less succeed, even if this obviously limits its appeal.
Despite this though I found the film to be quite interesting and it did a good job of making this bygone case of corruption quite accessible to me. It made the players and the meaning of the actions quite clear but it was just a shame that the subject itself was not delivered in such a manner that I was convinced of the impact and significance of this matter at the time or now. As narrator, Steve Bunce does a very average job and seems to just be pushing his words in an attempt to make it more exciting that I think he believes it is. I only know him from Fighting Talk on Radio Five and his style is much more suited to that than this.
Overall though a pretty interesting documentary that is accessible to the casual viewer even if it does have a limited appeal to a wider viewing public due to the lack of current relevancy or lasting significance being established within the telling.
Lots of things happen in history in fact things that are "newsworthy" are happening right now as I sit typing this review; however this is not to say that all of them will be remembered or are worth looking back on fifty years later. I wasn't sure if Poulson was worthy of looking back but only because I knew nothing of him or what he was involved in. In this regard the film didn't totally convince me that this was worthy of being remembered because it failed to make a case of the relevancy of looking back at Poulson in terms of appealing to a wider audience. As a documentary fitting into a season of films about modern architecture then it does more of less succeed, even if this obviously limits its appeal.
Despite this though I found the film to be quite interesting and it did a good job of making this bygone case of corruption quite accessible to me. It made the players and the meaning of the actions quite clear but it was just a shame that the subject itself was not delivered in such a manner that I was convinced of the impact and significance of this matter at the time or now. As narrator, Steve Bunce does a very average job and seems to just be pushing his words in an attempt to make it more exciting that I think he believes it is. I only know him from Fighting Talk on Radio Five and his style is much more suited to that than this.
Overall though a pretty interesting documentary that is accessible to the casual viewer even if it does have a limited appeal to a wider viewing public due to the lack of current relevancy or lasting significance being established within the telling.
helpful•00
- bob the moo
- May 12, 2007
Details
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
Top Gap
By what name was Backhander: The Poulson Affair (2007) officially released in Canada in English?
Answer