Night Manager

This is a decent tale. Really strange to see one of my favorite Doctors playing the villain. Hugh Laurie though does a great job as no other would although he is rather low key…dangerous yes but low key. He comes off as a humanitarian but he does have a lot up his sleeves. Then there is the Night Manager. As professional as only a Brit could be just doing his job in a Five Star Hotel. As these things tend to go, he falls in love and his interest spirals into disaster when his Femme turns out to be married to a cruel jerk. Our manager as they often do just happens to have spent some time in the British Army so he plays hero. 

These escapades a repeated throughout the show and at times it feels rather ‘James Bondy’. But the writers do weave together a pleasant story of dedication on the part of the agents that are bent on getting this arms dealer and the agent who must infiltrate the organization to gather the evidence they need. 

A small team of devoted government officials must then wrestle with an entrenched few whose stake in the game has them accepting kick backs as innocent victims falls prey to arms traders. 

The back and forth between trusted friends (Tom Holland plays Corcoran a devoted friend who seems to see through Jonathan or Andrew’s Ruse. He also has seen the interest Jonathan show to Richard’s wife and warns him to back off) and the deception as well as the tense moments make quite a show and even though I was not expecting such a brief experience it delivered and told the story in about 6 episodes. Jonathan is coming in as a replacement and this is all that Richard’s side kick sees him as. While the crew is used to being arrogant and getting their way in all sorts of situations, Jonathan’s finesse is set to ruin the party and tensions from this point on are high. 

The villains and his arrogance at the end with that strange twist of fate of the stuff of legends. 

The devotion that these two women show to their savior/lover is noteworthy both unwilling to give him up to the point of extreme pain. 

Given this is part of John La Carre’s (the great Spy Master writer) work, you tend to feel that these attempts can be ruined especially when extended in series format. The Day Of the Jackal is an example. You almost just want to see the film in brief not have to see the show drugged on in series format.