Sherlock Holmes star Benedict Cumberbatch plays mastermind of divisive brexit campaign.London: A television drama starring Sherlock Holmes star Benedict Cumberbatch as mastermind of divisive campaign to pull Britain out of European Union hits UK screens just as lawmakers gather for a momentous Brexit vote."Brexit: The Uncivil War", which airs on Monday, dramatises characters and strategies behind historic 2016 vote, under tagline: "Everyone knows who won.

But hardly anyone knows how."Commissioned in 2017, its creators could hardly have dreamed of a better moment to release two-hour political drama, with Britain at a critical juncture in Brexit process.Lawmakers will in mid-January finally vote on Prime Minister Theresa May's draft deal with Brussels, after she delayed a December vote amid staunch opposition to her plan.With no alternatives on offer, and looming threat of Britain crashing out of bloc in March without an agreement, stakes could not appear higher for May and country.Those behind Channel 4 portrayal see it as an opportune moment for a dramatisation of how it all began."I believe that art, drama and storytelling has a civic purpose as well as being entertainment," said show's writer James Graham at a preview screening on Thursday."It can contribute to our understanding of what's happening at moment in a different way than journalism or social media."- 'The real decision-makers' -Cumberbatch plays Dominic Cummings, a former political adviser to eurosceptic MPs who was director of Vote Leave, official pro-Brexit group that helped win referendum despite all mainstream political parties backing continued EU membership.Little known by wider public, Cummings is credited with playing a decisive role spearheading campaign, particularly through his insistence on a data-driven social media campaign rather than traditional electioneering.The film portrays him as an intense, self-described disruptor, deploying tactics gleaned from Chinese general Sun Tzu's ancient treatise "The Art of War" and who would retreat to an office cleaning cupboard to war-game his Brexit strategy undisturbed.Graham said he chose to spotlight referendum's strategists because they were "real decision-makers" and yet "people you've never really heard of"."It became clear to me that (Cummings) was most interesting character, because he's agent of change," he said."You always want a protagonist who makes decisions and there are consequences of those decisions."The tactics employed by Brexit campaigners have come under intense scrutiny since referendum, particularly use of misleading slogans and targeted political ads.In July, Electoral Commission watchdog fined Vote Leave for breaking campaign spending rules.Graham said he was eager not to pass judgement on digital strategies deployed by Brexit supporters as police and official inquiries continue."I hope what we're suggesting is not that tech and data is this evil manipulative tool, but that it is now platforms through which we have our political discourse."Not a 'stitch-up'The characters colourfully portrayed in film include Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage, two leading Brexit campaigners, as well as businessman Arron Banks, an influential pro-Leave donor who is under investigation over his finances.Graham's behind-the-scenes account is based on books by Sunday Times political editor Tim Shipman and Craig Oliver, head of Remain campaign.He also interviewed staffers from both camps and managed to win over an initially sceptical Cummings to meet with both him and then Cumberbatch."I just had to understandably persuade him it wasn't a stitch-up job," he said, adding that actor then spent an evening at Vote Leave director's home eating falafel and talking until dawn.The writer added that he was "baffled" by media reports that Cumberbatch was uncomfortable with how sympathetically Cummings is ultimately portrayed in finished film."Anybody who knows anything about acting knows that you can't inhabit a role unless you can empathise with them -- and that was Benedict's chief obsession," added Graham.With a background in theatre writing, 37-year-old penned last year's hit play "Ink" about media mogul Rupert Murdoch's British tabloid The Sun.Graham admitted taking on divisive issue of Brexit, which has exposed deep-seated fault lines in British society, was a more "terrifying" prospect."Rupert Murdoch is nothing compared to Brexit, in terms of emotions it unleashes," he said.(Except for headline, this story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)