The Night Manager

The night manager of a Cairo hotel called Jonathan Pine , Tom Hiddleston , is recruited by an organization commanded by Angela Burr , Olivia Coleman , to infiltrate a weapons dealer , Hugh Laurie. As he gets involved with the sweetheart , Elizabeth Debicki , of the mobster and his hoodlums :Tom Hollander , Alistair Petrie.

This is a suspenseful series plenty of emotion , intrigue , thrills ,crosses and double-crosses . The extreme intrigue and tension are extended from start to finish .This expensive miniseries is considered to be the most lavish TV drama in the history of BBC. Extraordinary acting by main cast , Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie , both of whom give magnificent performances . Support cast is frankly awesome as Douglas Hodge , Tom Hollander, Tobias Menzies , Alistair Petrie , David Harewood , Antonio De La Torre, and special mention for the pregnant Olovia Coleman.This was well rendered from a novel by prestigious author John Le Carre who has been adapted on cinema several times, such as: The spy who came in from the Cold , Call for the dead, Tinker , soldier and spy ,The little drummer girl, The tailor of Panama , The Russian house , The constant gardener , The most wanted man ,among others. The motion picture was compellingly directed by Susanne Bier .Debut TV miniseries for filmmaker Bier who has previously shot several foreign language theatrical feature movies such as: Brothers , Serena, In a better world , Second chance , Things we lost in the fire , After wedding . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Michael Snyman shot on marvelous locations from Spain , United Kingdom , Turkey , Egypt ,and Switzerland . Suspenseful and thrilling musical score by Victor Reyes. In 2016, it garnered 12 Emmy nominations including outstanding lead actor Tom Hiddleston , supporting players for both Hugh Laurie and Olivia Coleman , outstanding filmmaking for a miniseries for filmmaker Susanne Biet and writing for writer David Farr , but this renditíon is updated to the present day and it is not set in the era of the time John Le Carre source novel that was published in 1993.

Tom Hiddleston (Jonathan Pine) and Hugh Laurie (Richard 'Bloody' Roper) are a delight to watch in their respective castings and elevate this crime thriller to a cut well above the TV miniseries average. In fact, add to that the exotic locations and a music score worthy of Bond, The Night Manager really is something special.

I read the book after I'd viewed this series and appreciated the film script even more. The switching of Leonard Burr for the heavily pregnant 'Angela' (played by Coleman) is inspired and gives a wonderful 'common touch' to the otherwise very 'public school - ex military' vibe. Supporting roles from Elizabeth Debicki (Jed) and Tom Hollander (Corky) warrant honourable mentions for moments of brilliance. Check out Corky when, 3 sheets to the wind, he complains about the lobster salad - or lack thereof... ( incidentally - the lobster salad scene actually has John le Carrie as the dinner guest Pine apologises to - a nice touch).

All this acting talent simply heightens the drama of Carrie's masterful storytelling. We are charmed by Roper (the worst man in the world) and moved by Burr (recounting the memory of children exposed to chemical weapons) and the tension is held nicely by the paranoia of strained, mistrusting relationships. Close ups of Roper growling and glaring as the stakes climb ever higher, alongside everything going south back in London HQ make this an eminently re-watchable drama. Me likee Mr Pine...

This is a rare thing: a genuinely classy thriller. I've become so used to dodgy story lines and plots that resemble Swiss cheese that this is something of a shock. Of course, it helps that the acting is so brilliant with top performances from the likes of Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman, Tom Hollander and Elizabeth Debicki but a great actor needs a great script. The bedrock for this classy thriller is, of course, John le Carre, supported in the adaptation by David Farr. Susanne Bier's direction is a masterclass. The cinematography is stunning.

It's become a cliché to say that they don't make them like this anymore, but they rarely do. For me, it's the finest thriller this decade.

Oh, and Tom Hiddleston would make a very Ian Fleming James Bond.

I keep coming back to le Carre though. Once upon a time thriller writers like him and Freddie Forsyth were painstaking in their attention to detail, writing plots that arose out of believable characters. There's many a TV series that could take note.

With the cast in this little series, nothing could go wrong. I guess it could, but it didn't.

Great story, and it captured my interest so much I had to watch it properly instead of having it as just some background entertainment while doing other things.

It's like a nice short story where the viewer is dragged in slowly, and ends in a climax. The last episode is definitely a highlight, where some are really slow.

If I could I'd probably give it an 8.5/10, but since that's not an option I went up instead. A 9 it is then!

At last a good old fashioned yarn where bad guys are bad and the good guy has a moral position. A flick through the average night of TV and the schedules are filled with low-cost reality rubbish, The Night Manager breaks the mold it has a good storyline, high production values, and a great cast. More like watching a Bond movie, for example, using three million pound plus speedboats to go out to a restaurant just to get a beautifully choreographed overhead shot framed against the Med. Certainly looks and, with its intelligent script, sounds more like a big budget movie filmed on ___location in Europe than TV series. What more do you want for your licence fee? Forget it is reminiscent of a bygone era it is entertainment. As long as it doesn't degenerate into an overlong series with filler episodes that go nowhere I will keep watching...