‘Brexit: The Uncivil War’, a second draft of history

Journalism is often referred to as the first draft of history: It’s the immediate response and you know there will be things you would want to change later.

A TV series such as ‘Brexit: The Uncivil War’ is most likely the second draft of history in that there are far more insights now than in the first draft and you have discovered things that were not there before.

Even so, the second draft is unlikely to be the last one. ‘The Unicivil War’ brings forward a character who was not in the forefront of the battle to leave/remain in the European Union, Dominic Cummings.

The film is insightful in this sense. The problem with it is that in a rush to create a thriller, it becomes a collection of simplistic caricatures.

For instance, Benedict Cumberbatch as Cummings is the misunderstood and morally ambiguous genius.

The film does not go beyond the portrayal of Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson as cartoons.

However, the story is very taut and brilliantly told. The viewer simply needs to keep in mind that ‘Brexit: The Uncivil War’ seems to be a very early portrait of a complex political situation.

More Brexit nuances will surely come in the coming years.

The film airs from 4pm onwards on Aug. 17 on Zee Cafe.