Page Eight (2011)

I love this movie so much

Good movie but grossly overrated

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Elderly, womanizer British gentleman, somehow involved with spying, attracts young, beautiful woman who needs his help (The Russia House). Despite the huge age gap, she finds him attractive (The Russia House). He is unsure if he can trust her, because spying is a risky business, but she is a hot piece of a**, therefore worth the risk (The Russia House).In a top secret document, the gentleman discovers dirty business involving British Prime Minister and USA allied (The Ghost Writer). The document contains information about alleged torture of war prisoners. Unmasking the dirt may cause the gentleman serious problems, but he goes ahead (The Ghost Writer). He chooses the woman over his country, moves abroad and lives happily hereafter (The Russia House).To drag along the story a bit longer, a totally irrelevant sub-plot is added. The gentleman has a snobbish, single daughter, who got pregnant after one-week liaison with a "conceptual artist" (very important point, the "conceptual artist"... of course, such a spirited, upper class girl could not possibly get impregnated by a waiter). Since this is a liberal, "gauche-caviar" tale, more dirt is thrown to the direction of Israel, thanks to the Syrian, dove-eyed, beautiful, but emotionally damaged female lead. It must be made crystal clear that the "baddies" are the demoniac triad of USA-British Prime Minister-Israel and the "goodies" are everybody else, inclusive of the Muslim, scarf-wearing secretary.1 point is compulsory, 1 point to the atmospheric photography

Page Eight is about an MI5 analyst who's boss dies and leaves him a rather sensitive file that some in the British hierarchy would rather never sees the light of day.If you've seen Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy then it's basically the same thing - a spy thriller that tries to portray the more 'realistic' side of espionage. By this I mean the side of spying that isn't shown in James Bond. Don't expect any beautiful bikini-clad babes in Page Eight, or even a car chase with a car than can turn into a boat. What you have here is a political thriller where 'battles' are carried out with words and briefcases, rather than Walter PPKs.Page Eight has a great cast - anything with Bill Nighy, Ralph Fiennes and Michael Gambon are always going to carry a certain level of kudos with them.Is it any good? Yes, it does the job. It's probably worth a watch if you're happy with slower-paced thrillers. Gary Oldman's Tinker, Tailor is probably a superior vessel and Page Eight does come across like a film which was written by a Guardian reader, i.e. very left wing, but it's still not a bad watch.http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/

Intelligent BBC thriller with an amazing cast and a complex political plot that stalls and creaks a little from time to time. Playwright David Hare could've pitched this one as "Tinker Tailor" meets "Zero Dark Thirty," since the main storyline concerns two old-school British spooks (Bill Nighy and Michael Gambon) pushing back against a hawkish PM (Ralph Fiennes) who seems to have drunk quite a bit of the old Dick Cheney Kool-Aid. If you've seen "The Constant Gardener," you'll note that there's been some role reversal here. Now Bill Nighy's the quixotic truth seeker, Ralph Fiennes the ruthless pol. Rachel Weisz plays pretty much the same character in both—the activist who cozies up to a government insider for reasons more political than personal. The real-world background, though suitably horrendous—doctored intelligence, extraordinary rendition, CIA black sites, harsh interrogation—seems a few years out of date; too bad DH didn't hang on to this script until Edward Snowden gave him some juicy new material to work with. That said, there are some very effective scenes in which Nighy and Gambon confront the hostile minions of the Fiennes regime (including Judy Davis); it's all very offhand and subtle, no Aaron Sorkin–style speechifying. Good chemistry between Nighy and Rachel Weisz as they forge their quasi-romantic alliance, though the ending seemed a little inconsequential. David Hare's leftist slant on things—the Americans and the Israelis are the offscreen villains—will not be congenial to some viewers, I suspect. Hoping for a sequel starring Cumberbatch and Maxine Peake, maybe with a cameo by Jessica Chastain, that focuses on the iniquities of the NSA and the GCHQ

If you take a look at the cast, you should be wondering how this can be called a TV-movie. Starting with Bill Nighy, but not ending with Rachel Weisz. A great ensemble that does not only promise good acting, it also delivers it. Add a witty script, with some great ideas and you have an excellent movie. If you only add the "TV movie" sticker, I might as well have rated it higher.But even without that added bonus "point", I can assure you, that if you like political dramas/thrillers, you will absolutely love this. Apart from conspiracy and other things, this neatly ties in everything and more. The story is far more complex than one might think at the beginning. Very well thought of and very well executed.