Secret State

I enjoyed 'Secret State'. The film stars Gabriel Byrne, Ralph Ineson, Charles Dance, Rupert Graves, and Philip Dillaine, and covers a short period of time in the administration of a new British Prime Minister (Byrne). Byrne is his usual doleful self which, in this case, is good. As he has inherited the position due to the death / murder of his predecessor. That being the case he is faced with the task of discovering how and why his predecessor died, and unraveling the dark relationships between government, banking, and industry which might have led to that death.

The series is limited to four episodes / four hours, and so does not feel bloated or filled with red-herrings and blind-alleys to pad it out. In fact something actually happens in each episode, something which will lead to the series' resolution. The story, however, is not the easiest to follow and contains dialogue which might make the viewer feel ill-informed in matters of finance. But don't worry. In the end it's not about finance and so what you make of the dollars and cents / British Pounds and Pence, is not nearly as important as 'Who Done What to Whom'.

And that will be made clear.

As my summary suggests, this was a bit of a mixed bag.

The show is by no means perfect. It plays to some very old stereotypes in these situations... that everyone is very posh, in it for themselves, that women have to be aggressive and man-like. The moustache-twirling is used to very high degrees.

It of course also takes very broad and simplistic positions on many topics, as it is only a four episode series.

But at its core is an interesting mystery/political thriller, and a good mix of dynamics between government, big business and the banks. Gabriel Byrne is great and distracts from some of the narrative issues well, and delivers West Wing–like speeches at times, and supporting actors such as Ruth Negga provide good turns even if their roles are limited.

One review commented that it was made for stupid 14 year olds, which is the classic way of putting down others by saying if you like it you are clearly a stupid child. However, that reviewer takes things far too seriously. Commenting that in a national tragedy a deputy prime minister wouldn't waste his time going to speak to local residents just shows that he was looking for issues within the first five minutes of the show.

If you crave reality, or accuracy to minute detail, then this show isn't for you. It's fiction at the end of the day. Realistic it isn't, but it does give food for thought and is an entertaining mini series.

Pretty good if a bit melodramatic at times. Superb cast and the storyline is intriguing if nothing new. The ending could have been a bit more definitive as I hate things being left open to interpretation.

I'd watch it again and would like a second series

I've watched a LOT of British drama and this up there with the very best of them. What a pity we only got (get) to see 4 episodes and only a hint of the conclusion. It would have been great to see this played out to it's conclusion. I just don't get to understand the nay sayers. A truly superb cast - an abundance of thespian heavy weights - and at the top is Gabriel Byrne of course. He lends more gravitas as the prime minister than most "real life actors". As a support, Chares Dance is of course superb. Definitely worth watching. I'd actually give it more stars if I could and watched the series twice.

I found this series searching the web for political drama. Watching it is a very positive experience.

Filmed in 2011 or so the setting is UK in the present time. Lots of unfortunate events happen at one time. The 4 part series is about the political reaction to those events. Happenings and reactions are realistic enough to be relevant although cutting it fine on the dramatic side. Most relevant modern popular political topics are in the series, like terrorism, government surveillance, political infighting and moneys effect on politics.

Minuses are few, the biggest one being the series being way too short and compact :) Other minuses are ambiguities here and there and some minor connections between people and issues that seem a bit strange.

Acting is overall good. To me especially Gabriel Byrne playing the leading role does well.

In short this is must see if you like political drama.