…for now, at least. Watched the first 40 minutes of Page Eight. A Masterpiece Contemporary, I think they call it. Put it on the DVR when I saw the review in The Wall Street Journal. And, anything this terribly British means that I have to watch it for a bit of time, then watch it again. My ears have to get use to the fact that they all mumble, well, except for Rachel Weisz. They use some different terms than we use here. The story so unsubtly British, so spy-driven, for the first several minutes I thought I was watching a John le Carré , Cold War, circa 1960’s, going-to-the-dark-place book. So much so I was surprised at the talk of a website, the use of a computer and a blackberry. Somehow, it seemed very out of place. Not very Brit spy. Oh, but it is.
Maybe tonight I’ll get through the next 40 minutes. And then there’ll be another 40 minutes after that. Who knows. I do know that while it takes a while to process all that is going on, I won’t forget it. There are relationships inside, outside and through the story. Which ones are real is the challenge. They all look fake, no, not fake, unreal. Set up. Maybes. After all, they are all spies, well, except for Rachel Weisz. And they are all jockeying for position, of some sort. And it’s spare. Lean. The LA Times calls it a ‘low-boil thriller. Mainly, because of the magnificent cast, little needs to be said. There is the eye-brow lift. The pursed lip. The quiet, almost non-look look.
The plot so far, from those first 40 minutes is this: there’s this file that shows the highest position in the land, the PM, knows where the Americans are keeping and torturing terrorists. The fact is, he knows, and failed to tell his cabinet or his security forces. Oh, those nasty Americans, keeping the Brits as their lapdog. But are they? I mean, if he knows. Michael Gambon as Benedict Baron, head of MI5 [Professor Dumbledore!] is close friend and boss of Bill Nighy, Johnny Worrnicker, security analyst, our hero. Sort of. But is he. Baron is married to Worrnicker’s ex-wife. Worrnicker’s daughter, Juliette, paints the most depressing pictures and is pregnant. I’m not sure where this goes in the story. They all talk so civilly to each other. And, Rachel Weisz, Nancy Pierpan, Senior Editor, and Johnny’s neighbor have this ‘chance’ encounter. Johnny’s main problem is he’s a purist. And he trusts no one. So. Will he trust Nancy?
I left the story where his goes to a dinner at one of those very British old’ boy school functions. All the participants are in evening dress, and all the students are, well, students. The PM comes. Apparently they’ve all gone through Cambridge together. Although, somehow, I wasn’t getting a Cambridge vibe, just me.
But. What I’m really interested in is the file…