THE DEEPER YOU GO THE DARKER IT GETS. 

Cairo hotel night manager Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) is provided with secret documents by a mysterious woman; after showing them to a friend in British intelligence, he is enlisted as an undercover agent. This miniseries adaptation of John le Carré’s first post-Cold War novel is skilfully helmed by Susanne Bier, offering attractive sunny locations and great performances, especially by Hugh Laurie as ”the worst person in the world”, Tom Hollander as his cynical right-hand and Olivia Colman as a very pregnant operative. The story follows the night manager as he becomes a part of a ruthless arms dealer’s life; not much depth, but well-paced and engrossing, tension boosted by a terrific music theme.

2016-Britain-U.S. Made for TV. 348 min. Color. Produced by Rob Bullock. Directed by Susanne Bier. Teleplay: David Farr. Novel: John le Carré. Music: Victor Reyes. Cast: Tom Hiddleston (Jonathan Pine), Hugh Laurie (Richard Roper), Olivia Colman (Angela Burr), Tom Hollander, Elizabeth Debicki, Alistair Petrie. Cameo: John le Carré.

Trivia: Originally shown in six episodes; eight internationally.

Emmy: Outstanding Directing. Golden Globes: Best Actor (Hiddleston), Supporting Actor (Laurie), Supporting Actress (Colson).

Last word: “On our very first meeting [Colman] told me that she was pregnant, and I was like, I think it’s fantastic for the character, and then producers had to deal with insurance policies and all that, but we’d all agreed at that point that even if for some sad reason it shouldn’t work out [with] Olivia, we would still have the character to be pregnant. Because it was such a great thing for the character. It makes her strong, but it also gives her a time issue. Which just ups the stakes a whole lot.” (Bier, Vanity Fair)

ABOVE AVERAGE

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