Rachel Weisz in PAGE EIGHT → On Demand Weekly

Rachel Weisz in PAGE EIGHTOctober 31, 2011

Gravitas

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand and from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: PAGE EIGHT (Gravitas).

PAGE EIGHT
By Joe Charnitski

It’s the 21st century.

Ok, you probably already knew that, but if you didn’t, you will by the time you’ve finished watching writer/director David Hare’s political spy thriller PAGE EIGHT. Throughout the film, characters are reminded that we live in a new era – we’re post-Cold War, post-9/11. International men of mystery no longer carry business cards, they have web sites. Previously incorruptible relationships (between men and women, life long best friends and western allies) are no longer as durable as they once seemed. The leaders of nations act in shadows and their subordinates are persuaded to look away and carry on. Everyone’s left feeling insecure, distrustful. It’s the perfect setting for an international tale of intrigue and suspense.

The tone is set from the opening shots. Johnny Worricker (Bill Nighy) takes a brisk evening stroll through the beautifully shot, moonlit streets of London while a smug jazz score plays along. This guy is either the keeper of government secrets or a notorious playboy. Turns out he’s both. Johnny works as an intelligence analyst for MI5. His ex-wife is now married to his best friend, and boss, Benedict (Michael Gambon). Johnny left her when she became pregnant 20-some years ago. He can’t remember exactly when.

Johnny is cool, observant and precise. He’s also warm, funny and sincere in moments. He’s a serious man, but not cold. Nighy does an excellent job of balancing these competing emotions and characteristics. There’s a great scene between Johnny and his daughter Julianne, a famous painter. She asks him what he thought of her recent gallery opening. His response is crisp and spot-on. There’s some good fatherly advice in there, too. Sadly, it’s not what she wanted to hear, and he’s left in a confused state, unsure what it is exactly she wants from him. The scene encapsulates his character, and Nighy is sublimely believable and human in the portrayal.

The crux of the plot centers on a top secret document that Benedict has been given by an unnamed informant. It reveals previously suspected but never confirmed activities by the US government in the prosecution of the War On Terror. It raises questions about the British government’s complicity and threatens to shake the two nations’ “special relationship.” Benedict shares the document (and the alarming revelation found on page 8, thus the title) with Johnny knowing that if something happens to him, his best friend will follow the mystery no matter where it leads. Ralph Fiennes and Judy Davis appear in supporting roles as players in the scandal.

David Hare is more famous as a writer than a director. He’s been twice nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award (THE HOURS and THE READER). “Adapted” might be the key word there. His screenplay for PAGE EIGHT is an original creation and he may have benefitted from the inspiration and pre-existing structure you’d find in a novel.

The story never fully delivers on the intrigue and suspense of the early acts. The film would have been even better if Johnny’s predicament felt more and more perilous: tightening of the noose, raising of the stakes and all that. A subplot involving Johnny’s across-the-hall neighbor Nancy (Academy Award winner Rachel Weisz), while satisfying, lacks the emotional punch you would hope for.

Still, it’s a competent thriller with a skilled lead performance. Its sense of nostalgia for the good old days carries right through the filmmaking. For example, there are moments when it feels like just the kind of film Alfred Hitchcock’s would have made, and you could almost convince me that Bernard Herrmann was scoring it along with him.

- Joe Charnitski
Joe Charnitski is a new contributing writer to On Demand Weekly. His career in film and television production, development and marketing has included stops at Miramax Films, Syfy and VH1. He currently works at a entertainment focused social media marketing agency in New York City. Twitter: @JoeCharnitski