The Night Manager is your new TV addiction

THERE’S nothing like a sexy spy thriller to get you hooked for six weeks. And when it’s also starring Tom Hiddleston, what more could you possibly want?

THERE have been two attempts to turn spy thriller master John le Carre’s The Night Manager into a movie since the novel was published in 1993. They failed. And thank goodness, because if they had succeeded, we may not have been blessed with this excellent BBC six-parter.

Starring Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie, The Night Manager is the kind of ambitious production that still stands apart in a TV landscape crowded with “good TV”. There are high expectations of a quality series to persuade any viewer to commit themselves to these six hours over the reams of other great shows.

Luckily, The Night Manager has all the hallmarks of a series worth your time — strong performance from engaging actors, brilliant writing and a hook that’ll keep you coming back for more.

The story centres on Jonathan Pine, a former British soldier who became disenchanted with the horrors of war so he metaphorically locks himself away by spending his nights as the manager of luxury hotels in Italy, Morocco, Switzerland and Egypt. It’s in the latter location where he’s pulled in the world of arms dealing and dodgy characters by the tragic temptress Sophie.

Through Sophie, he chances upon an inventory list of scary weapons (chlorine gas, assault rifles and napalm) that shady British arms dealer Richard Roper (Laurie) is covertly selling to Egyptian counter-revolutionaries during the Arab Spring in a black market transaction.

Two and a half years later, he stumbles upon Roper again and is recruited by an intelligence investigator, Angela Burr (Olivia Colman, Broadchurch), to infiltrate the businessman’s inner circle, while the two work to keep the operation away from Roper’s moles within the British spy network.

The Night Manager filmed in locations including Mallorca and Marrakesh. Pic: BBC.

Hiddleston, whose name is often whispered in the same breath as Benedict Cumberbatch and Eddie Redmayne, is the picture of British restraint on the surface as Pine, if not for the rage that’s lurking underneath. Hiddleston’s portrayal is so engrossing, you can’t take your eyes off his face whenever he’s on screen, magnetised by every lip twitch or darted glance.

While Laurie is better known for his playing the curmudgeonly Dr House, his earlier comedy work with Stephen Fry, particularly as the bumbling Bertie in Jeeves and Wooster, belies how effective he can be as the menacing but charming villain Roper.

Add to the mix, Roper’s vulnerable and complicated lover, Jed Marshall, whose past and inner self is peeled back as the series progresses.

Jed is played by Australian actor Elizabeth Debicki, whose career has been in an upwards trajectory since she burst out of drama school and onto Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby. Debicki had a busy year last year with credits in Guy Ritchie’s The Man From UNCLE, Macbeth and Everest and will soon feature in The Kettering Incident (a Foxtel miniseries to air this year) and in a secret part in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

Elizabeth Debicki as Jed. Pic: BBC.

She told news.com.au that she was drawn to The Night Manager in part because of the “incredible” script and because she wanted to work with Oscar-winning Danish director Susanne Biers, who helmed the production.

But also because she became enamoured with the character. “The story is such an epic, a sweeping spy thriller. And then on top of that, to have this great female role in a genre where there are often stereotypes — the damsel, the femme fatale — is wonderful.

“I love Jed. I’d never read a character like her before. I loved she wasn’t what she seemed to be, the individuality of that. She’s kind of real and quite believable.

“She tries her best to be glamorous but she’s very vulnerable and fragile and what I love about her is we’re aware of her effort to be [something else to the world] while she’s also repressing a lot.”

The Night Manager has been well received in the UK with solid ratings and critical acclaim. Asked what sets the series above others, Debicki explained: “It’s intelligent writing and intelligent storytelling in that it reveals enough to keep you hooked but it doesn’t give everything away and you want to know more because you’re really invested from the beginning in these characters.

Watch your back. Pic: BBC.

“That’s also to do with the filmmaking and Susanne’s direction of the actors. Sometimes it’s simple things you’re not necessarily aware of — where she puts the camera and how she directs the scene.

“There’s a sense with The Night Manager that is quite voyeuristic. You feel like you’re exposed to something that you maybe shouldn’t be seeing.”

Bier’s direction, along with the acting and script, is what makes the production shine. She can ably carry off gorgeous wide shots of incredible and lush landscapes but also emphasise the intimacy of a moment and character with focused close-ups. She’s been entrusted to tell these character’s stories and conflicts and she does so with confidence.

The Night Manager begins this Sunday at 8.30PM on BBC First on Foxtel and Fetch.

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