The Night Manager: Brilliant Le Carre-based BBC miniseries (2016), still available on Amazon Prime

[highplainsdem]

I'm not sure how many DUers might've missed this wonderful miniseries. I did some quick googling and couldn't find any mention of it.

This was released in 2016, but you can still stream it for free on Amazon Prime.

Amazing cast. Tom Hiddleston won the Golden Globe for best actor, and Hugh Laurie and Olivia Colman won for their supporting roles.

Review at Rogerebert.com:


https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/tom-hiddleston-and-hugh-laurie-shine-in-amcs-brilliant-the-night-manager

Film and television have led us to believe that most espionage takes place in darkness. Men meet in dark alleys, secluded nightspots or private locations. One thing that the great Susanne Bier gets about modern espionage is that it often comes accompanied by opulence. Much of her brilliant adaptation of “The Night Manager,” starting tonight at 10/9c on AMC and running for the next five weeks, takes place in the blinding sun. Rich men sit on verandas, making deals that cause death around the world. It is only one aspect of Bier’s adaptation of John le Carré’s 1993 novel that feels fresh and engaging. Nearly everything about “The Night Manager” works, from the high-powered cast to the gorgeous locales. And it’s thematically dense as well, as le Carré and Bier examine the games people play with each other to get what they need, and how far we’re willing to go to deceive for the greater good.

-snip-

Le Carré and the mini-series format are ideal companions in that his narratives often demand more than the feature film running time allows (this was nearly adapted several times in the 20 years since its publication but no screenwriter could compress it to a movie length). It’s not just because of the density of the plot either, but more for the tone that the length of “The Night Manager” allows. We don’t even really see Roper for most of the first episode, turning him into a Jaws-esque legend before Laurie even has the chance to inject this performance with the perfect balance of wit and pure evil. He’s fantastic. We get notable character development for roles like Corkoran and Jed, who would have been mere plot devices if the narrative had to be compressed. Debicki and Hollander are both excellent.

Having said all of that, “The Night Manager” belongs to Hiddleston, someone who is equally convincing as the face of a glamorous lifestyle in Cairo and a veteran soldier hell-bent on vengeance. In fact, the pulse of “The Night Manager” comes from that transition, as we watch a man who has put his dark past behind him slowly bring it back to meet his present day needs. Hiddleston is so convincing that one could easily see him playing 007 next, although I’ve long been convinced that he can do just about anything he sets his mind to. He’s that good.

-snip-

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[Polly Hennessey]

1. Watched it. One of the better shows.

The writing, cast were excellent.

[highplainsdem]

4. Agree completely on the writing and cast.

[Mme. Defarge]

2. Loved it!

Thanks for the reminder, I may just watch it again.

[highplainsdem]

5. You're welcome! And that trailer was such a reminder for me that

I'm going to watch it again, too.

[abqtommy]

3. Thanks, I've read the book more than once and never realized that this video series

existed!

[highplainsdem]

6. You're welcome - and thanks for your reply, which makes me especially

glad I posted the OP.

I started wondering how many DUers might have missed the miniseries after reading the replies in the thread about favorite actors and actresses and not seeing any (other than my own) mentioning Hiddleston.

[highplainsdem]

7. Kicking for anyone who might be looking for a very good and

widely available miniseries to stream this weekend.