Damian Lewis and Anna Maxwell Martin ship compelling performances however the six episodes of A Spy Among Friends show considerably dense
“Am I under arrest? As my wife has booked tickets for the theatre tonight”
A Spy Among Friends delivers a blinder of a killer punch proper with its closing breath, a second of daring that left me severely impressed (maybe naively so, however nonetheless…). Truth be instructed although, the remainder of this six-parter had fallen into the solid-rather-than-spectacular class for me, Alex Cary’s adaptation of Ben Macintyre’s e book basically a largely acquainted retreading of Cold War espionage shenanigans.
It focuses on Nicholas Elliott (Damian Lewis), a MI6 intelligence officer who’s blindsided by the revelation that finest pal Kim Philby (Guy Pearce) is rattling soiled spy for the Soviets. Or is he? As Elliott is tasked with questioning Philby to get on the fact of his betrayal, MI5 agent Lily Thomas (Anna Maxwell Martin) is introduced in to interrogate Elliott to discover how sincere Elliott is being. Plus the CIA are hovering within the background.
It’s a distinct angle on the Cambridge Five however I’m undecided it’s one which repays fairly the extent of element it will get right here. Densely packed layers of intrigue are launched all through, as spy spies on spy spies on spy, which undoubtedly will increase the suspicion and pressure. But it additionally brings a weightiness and complexity which implies there’s too little vitality within the storytelling, as characters are ceaselessly left explaining the plot to one another (and thus to us).
The performing is powerful, Lewis and Pearce give us completely different shades of ambiguousness trustworthiness, wrapped in upper-class hauteur. And Maxwell Martin’s Lily, along with her Durham accent, represents an entire different world of potential progress as a working class lady with a black husband (Gershwyn Eustache Jnr doing a lot with little screentime). The marvellous Anastasia Hille stands out within the packed ensemble too.
If you’re extra aware of the historical past than I, then the shock revelation may certainly not be a shock for you however on prime of that, for me, its the audacity of the writing in suggesting the hollowness of the courageous new world that has been recommended all through that shocked, a recognition that English class constructions are constructed to final. Finely performed then, however missing that magic spark.