Hey, I am using this space to share my thoughts on the film that portrays my husband, Matthew Elliott, who was Chief Executive & architect of the Vote Leave campaign. For the record, I have not read any other review of the film other than my husband’s.
It was actually the Tate Britain where we went the first time I met Matthew’s parents in Feb 2013. Matthew ducked out quickly to get a haircut and left me with them, which was fine with me. We settled in the Turner section, not in front of Copley’s Battle of Jersey, as shown.
Funny how it starts there
Funny how it starts there.
I asked them how they felt about what Matthew was building. I realized by their quizzical facial expressions that maybe he hadn’t updated them on his most recent campaign.
And for the record Matthew has never been a lobbyist
I said, “You know, he’s forming a campaign to take the UK out of the EU.” Their reaction was quite memorable, and then I realized they had no clue.
His father froze, eyes wide open. “Oh my,” he said. His mother furrowed her brow and looking seriously at the floor as she processed the news. “Well,” she said, “that has consequences.” Indeed…😊
And yes Matthew picked Dom. Matthew always knew he needed someone with a killer instinct.
Douglas is also key to the victory
Matthew has never been a lobbyist…. He has been a campaigner his whole career, and responsible for his and his staff’s salaries since he was 24.
Love the Banks impersonation 😜
Farage is almost too easy to impersonate
Matthew and I had the pleasure of having actor John Heffernan come over to our home for what turned out to be a boozy lunch on a Saturday in June. You may remember him as Lord Altrincham in Season 2 of The Crown.
The biggest thorns in Matthew’s side came from the pro Brexit side
Remain didn’t have to fight for designation
Yup the offices were like that but the view from their office much better
That’s exactly what I said to M when he told me on our first date he wanted to do this
Up against an entrenched establishment - he will be hated
Back to the actor who plays M
John Heffernan is such a great guy! We had a blast, and poor John just listened to us babble on about us, the lead up to the Referendum, Referendum itself, how we fell in love... So friendly, patient, perfect manners.
Here we are at the lunch June 
*The lunch in June
Such a great guy! We had a blast, and poor John just listened to us babble on about us, the lead up to the Referendum, Referendum itself, how we fell in love... So friendly, patient, perfect manners.
He wanted to know what motivated Matthew. Why he got involved, and how he handled the difficult moments. Of course he wanted to know body language, gestures, etc.
Well, I took the mystery out of Matthew’s mannerisms and quirks to make it easy for John. And just laid them out on the table. But it’s clear John has picked up other things of his!
He definitely got the haircut down, the suit, trench, shoulder bag. Posture…
But it was very strange to be sat facing the both of them during lunch. John is similar height, slender build like Matthew. Though he does have more hair…. But then Matthew had more during the Referendum. Bless him.
John even came to the Republicans Overseas UK’s 4th of July Party, and we’ve enjoyed spending other time with him post filming. Really taking one for the team! Or is it understanding the other side?
This is where Channel 4 shows its colors - they think that Leave is mostly about immigration
I miss those old rimless glasses of M’s.
John gets m’s hands right!
It’s no secret that Dom and MPs didn’t get along
Benedict has a good northern accent
This a great scene
Highlights the divisions on the leave side
Mills and Banks did speak.
Oh dear... Bernard won’t like this bit
Yes there many calls from Dan during the referendum
Late night ones! I remember saying to M - who is it ? Let me guess! Dan Hannan! But Matthew never complained. He never complained ever.
Love the eyebrow raising by M’s character - spot on.
What do people think of the movie so far?
What I don’t think is being captured is what Matthew actually did and what was involved.
It’s not coming across the strategy he had to use and deploy to keep everyone on side
Remember Vote Leave spent most of the time fighting designation from Banks & company
Matthew has more backbone than what is being portrayed
And Matthew successfully ran and won NotoAV in 2011 and was way more on board with Dom than what is being portrayed
And there was a new chair
I like this scene. Nice exchange between Dom & Mary.
I’m surprised that they didn’t put in the day all the govt ministers came out
And Vote Leave won designation because he got MPs, business leaders from Business for Britain and cross party support.
Nice shout out to Ricardo
Love the focus group scenes. Captures the different views, demographics, and tense conversations that were had all over the country. A very clever way of doing it.
Such a great scene
Oh Gove - too cartoonish - esp up against Benedict. In my humble opinion.
This is clever. Some artistic license no doubt but clever.
M doesn’t always wear a suit btw. Just so the audience knows.
Great Boris voice but a little young or thin?
This is a film that can’t decide whether it’s a drama or a parody.
Labour MP, Gisela Stuart is truly missing in this film & not given a role which she deserves. Strong, articulate & down-to-earth, Gisela was key to the campaign for cross-party support & was one of Matthew’s favourite people he met & had the pleasure to work w/ on the campaign.
I spied @LowTaxChloe !
Did I spy @darrengrimes_ ?
Knowing Matthew he would have stormed in the room and turned the light on without being apologetic.
Don’t think Douglas will like this bit
This is a nice insight into the “forgotten men and women” of Britain.
Oh Craig what about the outrageous things Remain said?! Ryan Air planed, taxpayer-funded fliers... they had the whole government behind them!
This is where I believe the bias really starts to show its colors
Fun conference call coming up
Love that admission by Mendelson!
That damn breaking point poster - almost cost the referendum
You know Remain would have won had Cameron actually came back with a better deal.
Pivotal scene here
Watch the blonde lady
But they had heard of Boris
This is a brilliant exchange
The condescension of the elites to the British people coming to bear
Craig has you been in tune with the British public it would not have surprised you
*had you been
M was in Yorkshire that day campaigning and called me with the news she had died before the news released. Such a senseless tragedy.
M thought the referendum was lost at this point. All campaigning had to stop.
I tried to stay positive for him. Saying it wasn’t over yet.
Is this the parent-child lecture? Craig lecturing Dom?
Election night - we were in Manchester - M didn’t look that fresh at 440 am!
Matthew has that ceiling tile Dom punched.
I was up for 40 hours straight
Dom says he can’t hear it anymore - maybe he can’t hear the MPs getting after him anymore. 😂
1st I gave it a 6.5/10. Entertaining & a bit of satire is fun to watch esp as the Referendum was full of colorful characters. Then it gets preachy. And Remain comes off as self-righteous as if it’s the conscience of the film & anyone w/ reason. It takes away from the joviality.
Now after a second watch, I give a 5. I think the only character seriously tackled by the writer was Dom Cummings, and so doesn’t give the full story.
It’s as if Vote Leave was just the victory of a brainy mastermind and online manipulation.
When in actuality, it’s the result of a well-planned and executed campaign that started after Cameron’s Bloomberg speech in 2013. M formed Business for Britain that turned into Vote Leave. Years crafting the argument for “Change or Go.”
As well as, a British public who had 4 decades of BS from the bloated bureaucracy known as the EU, which didn’t have their best interest. So they wanted to take back control of their country.
I also take real serious issue with the incorrect insinuations and associations made at the end of the movie to the Trump campaign and the statement VL broke the law. VL is in court contesting all these false allegations right now.
It’s an ongoing matter, and VL is confident they will win. It will be proven the Electoral Commission did not follow due process.
I feel the writer James Graham let down the viewer here by not explaining all the facts.
You can’t do the Referendum justice in 90 min, and I have to keep that in mind. There was some seriously good writing in it.
On our first date in Washington DC in November 2012, Matthew told me, over two bottles of wine, that his next campaign was to take the UK out of the EU.
I wasn’t sure I heard him right! But he said it with such calm confidence and a glint in his eye that I knew he was.
He not only set the wheels in motion to do it (& kept them moving too), hired an amazingly talented team that crossed the finished line and got the job done, but he took on a long-distance relationship with an American conservative. That is one brave man.
