Baseado no livro best-seller do New York Times, escrito por Ben Macintyre.Baseado no livro best-seller do New York Times, escrito por Ben Macintyre.Baseado no livro best-seller do New York Times, escrito por Ben Macintyre.
- Indicado para 1 prêmio BAFTA
- 1 vitória e 9 indicações no total
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One of the first commissions for new UK Streamer ITVX this six part drama has quality written all over it. The production values are high and there is a premium cast led by Damian Lewis, Anna Maxwell Martin and Guy Pearce.
Its a fascinating story that focuses on Philby and how MI5 played their hand once they conclusively worked out that he had been a long term Soviet agent.
For me the strength of it was in the production and the acting. I think some will find a bit slow moving and dull as the setup involves lot of scenes of interrogation and relatively little action seen in occasional flashbacks. Its more 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' than Mission Impossible' which is fine unless you're expecting the latter.
Quibles, as usual it was photographed way too darkly, it was sometimes hard to see the actors at all. Anna Maxwell is a great actress but if the story demanded a strong female character from Durham couldn't we have had an actress authentically from the area? The shifts in time were also hard to follow and over-used.
But for fans of the genre its definitely one to savour and enjoy.
Its a fascinating story that focuses on Philby and how MI5 played their hand once they conclusively worked out that he had been a long term Soviet agent.
For me the strength of it was in the production and the acting. I think some will find a bit slow moving and dull as the setup involves lot of scenes of interrogation and relatively little action seen in occasional flashbacks. Its more 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' than Mission Impossible' which is fine unless you're expecting the latter.
Quibles, as usual it was photographed way too darkly, it was sometimes hard to see the actors at all. Anna Maxwell is a great actress but if the story demanded a strong female character from Durham couldn't we have had an actress authentically from the area? The shifts in time were also hard to follow and over-used.
But for fans of the genre its definitely one to savour and enjoy.
Based upon the real life events of the Russian infiltration of the British security services from around the rise of Nazi Germany through to the early 1960s when the infiltration was exposed and 'agents' fled Britain.
This is not an action spy drama, it's a drama based upon intrigue and strategic thrust and parry - as such it's very successful and weaves a gripping tale. Just what exactly is going on? Whom can we trust? Is this opportunism or another move in the long game, or both...?
The three leads, Lewis, Martin & Pearce each offer nuanced performances that between them create and carry the bulk of the show's dramatic tension - and they each do a fine job of conveying a sense of the 'times they lived in' - times overshadowed by the cold war, memories of fascism and an horrendous world war, and of a looming new world struggling to shake off these attachments and mires of the old world.
The unfolding of the story is a little complicated, with frequent time shifts, which clarify and re-clarify understanding - so this is not a casual viewing show. It demands the audience pay full attention and think about and consider what they're witnessing. It all adds up to a very satisfying experience if you're prepared to invest the time - but mostly, you'll simply get sucked into the story and crave resolution.
On the production side, the world created is a very convincing one depicting, primarily, London in the 60s.
Superb!
This is not an action spy drama, it's a drama based upon intrigue and strategic thrust and parry - as such it's very successful and weaves a gripping tale. Just what exactly is going on? Whom can we trust? Is this opportunism or another move in the long game, or both...?
The three leads, Lewis, Martin & Pearce each offer nuanced performances that between them create and carry the bulk of the show's dramatic tension - and they each do a fine job of conveying a sense of the 'times they lived in' - times overshadowed by the cold war, memories of fascism and an horrendous world war, and of a looming new world struggling to shake off these attachments and mires of the old world.
The unfolding of the story is a little complicated, with frequent time shifts, which clarify and re-clarify understanding - so this is not a casual viewing show. It demands the audience pay full attention and think about and consider what they're witnessing. It all adds up to a very satisfying experience if you're prepared to invest the time - but mostly, you'll simply get sucked into the story and crave resolution.
On the production side, the world created is a very convincing one depicting, primarily, London in the 60s.
Superb!
Based on the true story of a notorious British secret agent, watching A Spy Among Friends feels like a journey back in time to those classic '60s spy thrillers, with various plot threads that gradually weave into focus. Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce are excellent in their respective roles as conflicted old friends and Anna Maxwell Martin is superb as the sharp, dogged MI5 investigator trying to drill down to the truth. With locations including London, Beirut, Istanbul and Moscow, it takes a while to fathom what's going on. And it does a great job of exposing the smug superiority of the old boys' network that ruled MI6.
If you want a Mission Impossible style bang fest or a Bond style romp this isn't your thing. If you need a plot recap after every ad break you lack the concentration for this.
But if you want a drama that engages, immerses, and makes you think then this will do the job.
Some reviewers have said it's slow, drab, tedious, the constant changing between timelines is distracting and that Mrs Thomas is an anachronism.
I think they're missing the point.
This is only 20 years after WWII, 20 years after these events government offices looked little different. Anyone who was in the Civil Service during that period will know the details are accurate.
The tension and mistrust between CIA, the Security Service, and SIS that followed the war, Blake, Burgess, and McClean is abundantly clear and so to the extent this hampered both their efforts.
One must also remember that this was only 2 years after the Cuban Missile crisis and the suspicions of East about West and the efforts and paranoia of intelligence and counter intelligence operations is very apparent.
This drama is a mind game that reflects the way that Philby manipulated his friends and acquaintances over decades. The constant reviewing of events by those involved akin to the thoughts of a cuckolded husband as he tries to spot what he has missed. The sense of betrayal almost palpable.
The drabness, the politeness, the ordinariness in stark contrast to the fatal impact of Philby on those he betrayed.
Pearce is exceptional as the idealistic Philby and there is an almost physical change as the realisation of his decisions and the realism of living in the Soviet Bloc hit home.
If he had been born half a century earlier Lewis could have been Elliot in reality. I couldn't make up my mind if he was an exceptional actor, or not acting at all he was that convincing.
And as for Maxwell-Martin, yes, Mrs Thomas was made up. My interpretation was her character aptly contrasted with the old boys club of Philby and Elliot and was created for this purpose. If SIS and the Security Service had had more like Mrs Thomas to challenge the status quo then perhaps the Soviet moles might not have burrowed so far into the establishment.
So stick with it. I thought it well worth a few hours of my time.
But if you want a drama that engages, immerses, and makes you think then this will do the job.
Some reviewers have said it's slow, drab, tedious, the constant changing between timelines is distracting and that Mrs Thomas is an anachronism.
I think they're missing the point.
This is only 20 years after WWII, 20 years after these events government offices looked little different. Anyone who was in the Civil Service during that period will know the details are accurate.
The tension and mistrust between CIA, the Security Service, and SIS that followed the war, Blake, Burgess, and McClean is abundantly clear and so to the extent this hampered both their efforts.
One must also remember that this was only 2 years after the Cuban Missile crisis and the suspicions of East about West and the efforts and paranoia of intelligence and counter intelligence operations is very apparent.
This drama is a mind game that reflects the way that Philby manipulated his friends and acquaintances over decades. The constant reviewing of events by those involved akin to the thoughts of a cuckolded husband as he tries to spot what he has missed. The sense of betrayal almost palpable.
The drabness, the politeness, the ordinariness in stark contrast to the fatal impact of Philby on those he betrayed.
Pearce is exceptional as the idealistic Philby and there is an almost physical change as the realisation of his decisions and the realism of living in the Soviet Bloc hit home.
If he had been born half a century earlier Lewis could have been Elliot in reality. I couldn't make up my mind if he was an exceptional actor, or not acting at all he was that convincing.
And as for Maxwell-Martin, yes, Mrs Thomas was made up. My interpretation was her character aptly contrasted with the old boys club of Philby and Elliot and was created for this purpose. If SIS and the Security Service had had more like Mrs Thomas to challenge the status quo then perhaps the Soviet moles might not have burrowed so far into the establishment.
So stick with it. I thought it well worth a few hours of my time.
In the 1950s, John Le Carre (as he wasn't yet known) had to leave his job in the British secret service following the defection of the Kim Philby. Le Carre adopted his pen name and took up a new career as a writer of spy thrillers; and most directly fictionalised the Philby story in his most famous novel, 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'. This was adapted into a brilliant, talky television drama, featuring many of the outstanding British actors of the 1970s. It was more recently made into a film; but in a very different style. 'A Spy Among Friends' is new, less fictionalised account of Philby's defection, but it's far more like the 1970s version of Le Carre's work than the later film. Guy Pearce, Damian Lewis and Anna Maxwell Martin, among others, sit around talking. I should absoultely love it, given how much I adore its spritual predecessor, and it is good; but it's a little bit too clever, and it can be hard to follow all the subtle twists of plot. The Australian Pearce in particular is very good (and convincingly English) as Philby, but it's a muted affair.
Você sabia?
- CuriosidadesDominic West was originally cast to play Kim Philby, but had to withdraw from the project because of COVID delays and his ongoing commitment to The Crown (2016).
- Erros de gravaçãoThe series is unfair to James Jesus Angleton, largely portraying him as a rube, who is constantly discovered by British intelligence and is completely taken in by Philby, even after Philby's betrayal is revealed. In reality even Angleton's critics acknowledge that he was, for a long time, a brilliant agent, although one who ultimately became consumed by paranoia.
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Detalhes
- Data de lançamento
- Países de origem
- Central de atendimento oficial
- Idioma
- Também conhecido como
- A Spy Among Friends
- Locações de filme
- Bucareste, Romênia(Beirut, Moscow, Berlin, Vienna, Istanbul)
- Empresas de produção
- Consulte mais créditos da empresa na IMDbPro
- Tempo de duração1 hora
- Cor
- Proporção
- 2:1
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