Institute History
Description
A drama inspired by real events, Longford spans 32 years in the life of Lord Longford, a religious man who treats everyone he meets with a childlike goodness and innocence. His life changes when he is summoned to a routine prison visit by Myra Hindley, the notorious accomplice in the "children murders," one of the most horrific and infamous crimes in British history. He embarks on a personal and philosophical journey that will test all his basic convictions.
The problem is that Longford believes every human being can be forgiven; in fact, that credo is the foundation of his long career as a scholar and philanthropist. When he meets Myra, with her intriguing history as the lover of convicted psychopath Ian Brady, her composed demeanor and plaintive plea for help, as she sits vulnerably in a prison guest hall, is more than he can resist.
Longford plays out in wonderfully crafted scenes of intense dialogue and calculated power plays. It sports a top-notch British cast with a particularly powerful performance by Jim Broadbent; in his hands, Lord Longford emerges as both profound and heartbreaking. The fascinating friendship between Myra and Longford becomes a metaphor for the vast gulf that lies between good and evil and inevitably poses the question: How can these completely opposite people even exist in the same world, let alone find common ground?