Page Eight [DVD]

Superb ensemble performance. Gripping plot with high tension and enough happening in the background to lead to many repeat viewings.

If you're after a spy story with running and shouting, violence and high-tech trickery then try Spooks. `Page Eight' is a much more thoughtful, contemplative drama reminiscent of early Le Carre (`The Spy Who Came In From The Cold' era) or the wonderful but short-lived series The Sandbaggers - Series 1 [1978] [DVD].

`Page Eight' covers some of the same ground as `The Ghost Writer' by Robert Harris in that it uncovers dastardly behaviour on the part of the British Prime Minister (an entirely undisguised interpretation of Tony Blair) who's found to be complicit, and maybe worse, when it comes to gathering intelligence by torture.
However, PE tells its tale in a very different way, from the perspective of a life-long intelligence analyst at MI5. Bill Nighy constructs a fascinating, old-school character in what might be one of his finest performances. Every line is crammed with hidden meaning; every raised eyebrow suggests the unspeakable. The interaction between Nighy and Michael Gambon is magnificent - as are Nighy's confused relationships with the various women in his life. The supporting cast is wonderful too, with superb turns from Alice Krige and Rafe Feinnes.
However, it is the neatly constructed plot, delicate dialogue and tight direction which deliver so much from `Page Eight'. On one level this is a very small story about an old spy at the end of his career, making a choice to prioritise his service and his country over his family for one last time. On the grander scale, the plot of `Page Eight' threatens to bring down the established security service and/or the Prime Minister and the special relationship with the USA. Like all the best spy stories, one tiny shuffle of a pawn has the potential to bring down an empire...

It's not entirely flawless. A couple of the jumps in the plot are a little hard to follow which made me wonder if a longer version had been trimmed down for British TV. But if any production company wanted to spin off this single film into an ongoing series (it's crying out for a prequel, at least) then I'd be glued to it.
8/10

This is a cracking BBC British spy movie with a superb cast. It is heavy on atmosphere, great character portrayal and clever dialogue rather than violence which is happily absent. While it is not a comedy, it has some dialogue that made me laugh out loud.

Johnny Worricker (Bill Nighy) is an intelligence expert in MI5. His boss and best friend, Benedict Baron (Michael Gambon) reveals to Johnny and a few others in the MI5 a file stating, on page 8, that Downing Street knows that the Americans are torturing prisoners in Black Sites even though such practices have been denied by the British Home Secretary (Saskia Reeves). It seems the Prime Minister has been witholding information from the Home Secretary. Suddenly Benedict Baron dies of natural causes and Johnny still has a copy of the damning file which the British Prime Minister (Ralph Fiennes) menacingly demands he return. But Johnny has a job to do. He realised that Benedict revealed this information with the intention of the truth being outed.

Meanwhile, Johnny's neighbour, Nancy Pierpan (Rachel Weisz) who he has never met, introduces herself and reveals that her brother, a political activist, has been murdered but no one will admit to it.

I loved it. But then I like almost everything that Bill Nighy is in.