London Spy (BD)

BBC has done it again – created a five part miniseries that is a well written, well directed, well photographed, well lighted and exquisitely acted cinematic exploration of a relationship drama refracted through the prism of the spy genre. Written by Tom Rob Smith and directed with great sensitivity by Jakob Verbruggen, this story takes chances on so many levels – the main characters are gay, there is a very sensual depiction of a gay sexual experience, the secret societies of all nations are involved in this tale of espionage, and the story is as much about a mystery as it is about a love relationship that is abruptly cut short, leaving many questions unanswered, and allowing the audience to feel the degrees of grief and conundrum that sudden loss of a loved one brings.It is interesting how various synopses of this miniseries are interpreted: ‘This is the story of a chance romance between two people from very different worlds, one from the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service, the other from a world of clubbing and youthful excess.’ And the better one, ‘What begins as a chance romance between two people from opposite walks of life - one an antisocial investment banker Alex (Edward Holcroft) the other a slacker romantic Danny (Ben Whishaw) quickly unravels when the reclusive banker disappears under suspicious circumstances, exposing his real identity as a spy and forcing his lover down a dark path to reveal the truth.’ What these synopses fail to explain is the complexity of the relationship between Danny and Alex, the dependency of Danny on the advice of his only friend Scottie (Jim Broadbent) who recalls the old days in England when being gay was a crime, Danny’s discovery of SMBD equipment in Alex’s attic where Alex is discovered dead in a trunk, the clues that lead to the police (Samantha Spiro), Alex’s strange mother Frances (Charlotte Rampling), a past shared encounter with an escort (Riccardo Scamarcio), and on and on.To offer more would be spoiling the story – which is very convoluted at times. The first four episodes are brilliant, but things fall apart a bit in the final episode. Bt that does not hamper the brilliance of this excellent miniseries. All of the actors are excellent, but Ben Whishaw continues to demonstrate that he is one of the finest actors on the screen today. Very Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, April 16

Along with the initial romantic story line of two very different male characters finding romance with each other, which could have been a series in itself like a gay "Odd Couple", is what the romance soon turns into -- a murder mystery/frame up that smears the reputation of the innocent, bewildered, and devastated Danny Holt who has his life turned upside down and finds himself scrambling to prove his innocence as a permanent state of his existence. But before the midway point of the series, Danny discovers that Alex, his lover, was a London spy and some kind of math genious who was working on a plan of his own to tame the entire world that the entire global intelligence community and the powers that be strongly opposes and who are willing to do anything to stamp out in order to protect the current corrupt economic and political systems of the world.What I find to be particularly fascinating about this story that seems to never stop evolving is that it is out of a deep love and sense of loyalty to his deceased partner, along with the innate need to know (that's in most of us), that the weak, insecure, and frail Danny Holt is able to propel himself on to a mission of justice not just for himself, so that he doesn't have to live the rest of his life totally marginalized from society which becomes almost a mute point to Danny, but for the good of humankind throughout the world.I really wish this series could have been somehow stretched and continued to last five years (instead of five episodes) without losing the story's gripping nature, but I am not complaining. This one year wonder of a television series was probably made as well as it possibly could be. In any event, the five episode series is basically a spy story that involves a gay romance. In that sense, it is not for everyone. But it is for everyone in the sense that most people really don't know what the intelligence communities of nation states are capable of and the length that they would go to protect a government secret -- even if it means the continual maligning and marginalizing of innocent lives like this poor, gay character, Danny Holt.If I am forced to point to just one thing that I like most about London Spy -- created and written by Tom Rob Smith who I regard as a story-telling genius -- besides Ben Whishaw, Jim Broadbent, and the entire cast, it is the overall message that very subtly permeates into the heart of the drama which goes something like this: Not only should we use our human intuition and take chances on people in the course of our lives, but we need to know that despite how tough it gets, even when the whole world may be stacked against us, we have to continue to fight for what is right, and good, and just.

Interesting subject.

Superb serie. Loved it. A must watch. Can't wait for a second season

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