New Movie “It couldn’t happen here surely?” is a frightening warning call

Ricky Gervais as Boris Johnson in “It couldn’t happen here surely ?”

The premise is far-fetched but Prime Minister “Call me Dave” Cameron finds himself under pressure from the Tory Right, combined with a maverick xenophobe called Farage, to call a Referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union.

Cameron, brilliantly played by an urbane Roger Allam, takes soundings in the pro Europe establishment and is assured that he will win. Meanwhile Farage (impersonated by Hugh Jackman) gets financial backing from sources as diverse as Arron Banks (James Corden) and Vladimir Putin (Kevin Spacey) and actually wins an EU election.

Cameron panics, loses the Referendum and after a few false starts opens the door for Boris Johnson, played by Ricky Gervais with echoes of David Brent, who improbably become Prime Minister. Part farce, part comedy and part pseudo documentary this is a frightening warning of what could happen if British politics went all out dystopian.