World Premiere / Feature – UK
Showing @ Filmhouse 1, Sat 18 June @ 16:45 & Sun 19 June @ 20:00
David Hare / UK / 2011 / 100 min / English
If you’re after a film brimming with hot topics then this is the one for you. With a script that could have been written yesterday, Page Eight could not be timelier or more topical. A political thriller, the plot follows Johnny Worricker (Bill Nighy) as he becomes embroiled in the Arab Spring, the use of torture to gain intelligence and the USA’s overly secretive terrorism investigations. Working for the MI5, he soon uncovers a treacherous network of deception that puts the morality of the highest level of politics into serious question. This is exciting and revealing stuff – all of which could be true in theory – and its modest level of conspiracy without being too outwith the realms of possibility makes its plausible plot highly engaging.
There’s no doubt that Page Eight is a well produced and confidently directed piece with a finely-crafted script and intriguing plot. But what’s disappointing is its inability to break the mould, instead giving us another staple of good British cinema. This is a very strong cast made up of some of the best if not most renowned actors and actresses the UK has to offer, and yet something is missing. It wouldn’t be much of an exaggeration to say that once you’ve seen one of Bill Nighy’s characters, you’ve seen them all. In fact many of the actors have been typecast; Ralph Fiennes as the creepy bad guy, Michael Gambon as the kindly old man, Saskia Reeves as the ambitious ball-breaker. Although this predictability can sometimes add to the charm of a film – and at least you know the kind of thing to expect – it can become quite tedious after a while, and begs the question why director David Hare has played it so safe. Until, that is, you realise it’s been funded by the BBC, whose daring can only be as ground-breaking as licence fee payers will allow. Yes this formula works, yes it’s a good film, and yes it’ll get bums on seats, but what British cinema is crying out for is something new to show the world what we’re really capable of.