Only the most blinkered Remoaner could think Brexit is the worst thing Michael Caine’s ever done. Whatever lies ahead of us politically, it just couldn’t be as ghastly as Sir Michael’s filmography for the years 1978-1985*. Which, when you consider he made Jaws IV in 1987, puts everything into perspective.
Even so, the promotional tour for his latest movie has provided him with an opportunity to explain his referendum vote in more detail. Like most of our highest-profile Brexiteers, Sir Michael has an immigrant wife, and is keen to distance himself from the more unsightly elements of the vote. Asked what persuaded him, he told Sky News: “It wasn’t the racism, immigrants or anything, it was about freedom.”
Go on. “I’d rather be a poor master than a rich servant.” Spoken like a man paid several million dollars every time he turned out as Batman’s butler.
Incidentally, we should remember that it was to Sir Michael’s canon that Sarah Vine turned on the morning after the Brexit vote, telling her husband Michael Gove: “you were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off.” Does Caine have any quotable quotes for those suggesting the complexity of the task is unprecedented?
“Politics is always chaotic,” he explains. “In politics, you’re always going into areas you’ve never been before, so you’re always going to get lost and then you’re going to find your way, and then it’ll be all right.”
So there you have it. See you on the other side, Sir Michael.
* Please don’t waste your time writing in about Educating Rita.
