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_Page Eight_
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septimus_...@q.com
Feb 25, 2013, 10:39:21 PM2/25/13
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septimus_...@q.com
Feb 25, 2013, 11:04:26 PM2/25/13
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David Hare's _Page Eight_ came to PBS "masterpiece theater"
before I have the chance to buy the DVD. Visually, it is
the least distinctive work of his that I've seen; even
_Weatherby_, his directorial feature film debut, has an
extensive homage to _Gone with the Wind_. Instead, the
film is very muted and relies on close-ups, very TV-like.
(It is a telefilm after all, probably shot with minimal
budget; the sets are wonderful but the camera work less
so.)
In terms of story, the film reminds me of _The Girl in
the Cafe_, also starring Bill Nighy as a jaded, isolated
civil servant whose heroic instincts are awakened by the
hippie played by Kelly Macdonald. Hare's script is much
more tightly constructed, however; Nighy is an aging
MI5 analyst, and in addition to Rachel Weisz playing
the Kelly Macdonald role, he also has a teenage daughter
who needs his support, and his oldest friend and MI5
boss who is dying and wants to draw him into uncovering
a political scandal. The scandal comes in the form of
a top secret report which implicits Downing Street in
U.S. black site prisons where torture of prisoners occurs.
(This would be the perfect bookend to _Zero Dark Thirty_,
of course.) The film begins and ends with a jazz score,
and the Nighy character, who has great integrity and
intelligence, repeatedly frames his courses of action
to the one question: whether life is "worth living"
if he does one thing or the other. In the end he makes
a compromise which betrays some but redeems others.
It is a very well-written story, as one expect from
Hare, and Nighy is magnificent as the centerpiece.
The supporting players are top-notch: Weisz as the
wide-eyed sister of an activist slain by the Israelis in
the West Bank; Felicity Jones as Nighy's daughter facing
her own fork in the road; Gambon as the MI5 chief and
devious old friend; Alice Krige as his harried wife
(who is also Nighy's character's ex-wife); Ralph
Fiennes as the media-savvy prime minister; and Judy
Davis as a fellow MI5 operative. The standout
cameo is however Saskia Reeves as the flamboyant
Home secretary. I always have a soft spot for Reeves,
who has played the best "Lady Jessica" (in _Dune_) that
will ever be cast; it has been a long time since I've
seen her in a role this spectacular.
before I have the chance to buy the DVD. Visually, it is
the least distinctive work of his that I've seen; even
_Weatherby_, his directorial feature film debut, has an
extensive homage to _Gone with the Wind_. Instead, the
film is very muted and relies on close-ups, very TV-like.
(It is a telefilm after all, probably shot with minimal
budget; the sets are wonderful but the camera work less
so.)
In terms of story, the film reminds me of _The Girl in
the Cafe_, also starring Bill Nighy as a jaded, isolated
civil servant whose heroic instincts are awakened by the
hippie played by Kelly Macdonald. Hare's script is much
more tightly constructed, however; Nighy is an aging
MI5 analyst, and in addition to Rachel Weisz playing
the Kelly Macdonald role, he also has a teenage daughter
who needs his support, and his oldest friend and MI5
boss who is dying and wants to draw him into uncovering
a political scandal. The scandal comes in the form of
a top secret report which implicits Downing Street in
U.S. black site prisons where torture of prisoners occurs.
(This would be the perfect bookend to _Zero Dark Thirty_,
of course.) The film begins and ends with a jazz score,
and the Nighy character, who has great integrity and
intelligence, repeatedly frames his courses of action
to the one question: whether life is "worth living"
if he does one thing or the other. In the end he makes
a compromise which betrays some but redeems others.
It is a very well-written story, as one expect from
Hare, and Nighy is magnificent as the centerpiece.
The supporting players are top-notch: Weisz as the
wide-eyed sister of an activist slain by the Israelis in
the West Bank; Felicity Jones as Nighy's daughter facing
her own fork in the road; Gambon as the MI5 chief and
devious old friend; Alice Krige as his harried wife
(who is also Nighy's character's ex-wife); Ralph
Fiennes as the media-savvy prime minister; and Judy
Davis as a fellow MI5 operative. The standout
cameo is however Saskia Reeves as the flamboyant
Home secretary. I always have a soft spot for Reeves,
who has played the best "Lady Jessica" (in _Dune_) that
will ever be cast; it has been a long time since I've
seen her in a role this spectacular.
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