I've had The Night Manager on my DVR for months. Last weekend's rainy Saturday presented a perfect opportunity to settle in for this AMC spy thriller based on a John Le Carre novel. When it was on I avoided the reviews and commentary though I heard bits and pieces - mostly that it was a really good show.
It turns out I could tell the story was written in 1993, or at least not currently.
(I just realized 1993 is TWENTY-THREE years ago!!! Wow - the 90's were a different age.)
Anyway a few things seemed dated.
1) The bad guy's close associate is gay. No problem, but the way he was treated seemed like it was different than we'd see today. Not sure I could put my finger on it.
2) The hero falls in love with both of the women. Ugh.
3) The bad guy's lifestyle seems a little Dallas or Dynasty.
This review on the AV Club echoes my sentiments.
The best part was the length - long enough to settle into, but not so long that it required a huge investment of time - just 3/4 of a Saturday.
The standout performance was Olivia Colman as the London spy who gets Jonathon Pine (Tom Hiddleston) involved.
Second best performance was Tom Hiddleston.
There was a whole section about Jonathon Pine creating a persona that would convince Richard Roper (the bad guy played by Hugh Laurie) that Pine is ruthless and undeniably evil. Ruthless and evil wasn't even how Roper wanted to use Pine. The Night Manger's best asset was his charm. So, that whole section seemed useless and ridiculous.
Having read my share of spy novels back in the 80's and 90's, and a couple by John Le Carre, I assume there was more to the story in the book. He was probably learning to be cold as ice. The way it was presented in the movie it just didn't work.
Tom Hiddleston was great as a charming Night Manager. The first episode of the show was excellent. When Pine got into the Roper gang, that's where the show dragged down.
Still - it was good and I'm glad I watched it.
(I probably shouldn't have spent time writing about it though!)
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