An old school spy thriller

Second Take

Some of you may remember that excellent, low key political spy thriller called Page Eight from a few years ago.

It now has two sequels, both of which released recently on DVD, called Turks & Caicos and Salting the Battlefield. (Uninspiring titles, yes — if I didn’t know they were sequels to what is probably the most pleasurable spy thriller I’ve seen, I wouldn’t have given them a second look). Bill Nighy as Johnny Worricker, the elegantly ageing British spy, continues to be the star and hero of the sequels but alas, there’s no Rachel Weisz here. She’s replaced in the sequel by a new love interest, Helena Bonham Carter: it turns out the character she plays was Worricker’s lover once.

The sequels don’t measure up to Page Eight, though both are written and directed by playwright David Hare who created the charming original. But that judgment holds good only when you stack them up against Page Eight — on their own, Turks & Caicos and Salting the Battlefield still offer more character and spycraft than most other contemporary spy thrillers. Made back to back, the sequels, like Page Eight, were made for BBC television. They feel at times as sophisticated and intellectual as John Le Carre stories; writing for television allows a spy drama like The Worricker Trilogy (as the set is now called) to feel more credible and intelligent, since it doesn’t have to bow to box-office pressure. There are no stunts and special effects, though there’s plenty of cerebral cloak and dagger. 

To slightly recap the premise of the original (without any plot spoilers): Johnny Worricker (Bill Nighy), an old school spy recruited by the MI5 when he was just a bright university student, is now in his 60s and has become good at intelligence analysis. He sniffs out a conspiracy on Page 8 of a secret service report, and now even his own government wants to buy him out to keep his silence. Using the help of his beautiful neighbour, Rachel Weisz playing a book editor, Worricker stays one step ahead of the game. 

When we last caught a glimpse of Worricker, he was exiting Britain alone — it was the only thing he could do to dodge arrest. In Turks & Caicos, we find him relocated (i.e. in hiding) to the little-known island of Turks and Caicos, which is apparently a tax exile paradise. But trouble, of course, follows him here too. There’s a CIA agent disguised as a rich, decadent colonial (Christopher Walken) and some other nasty American characters that annoy Worricker and give him a real headache. Worricker wants to lay low, not become involved in whatever political scam they are hatching, but he’s soon made out as the notorious British spy who thumbed his nose at his own prime minister, and is once more drawn into the game. 

Turks & Caicos is clearly the second — or middle — act, setting the stage for the third and final act climax in Salting the Battlefield. The second act isn’t as satisfying as the first in Page Eight, but is still diverting in its own understated way, brimming with tension, wit and play. And there’s a dead body on the beach, and the intrigue unfolds with Worricker once again at the top of his game. There’s a lighter atmosphere to it, no doubt intended because of its island paradise setting. Lots of sun and sand and colour and cocktails and murder, with Nighy looking more restrained and relaxed than even usual. Also in the plot are Helena Carter, Ralph Fiennes who continues to play the shady prime minister, and one unexpected added surprise: Winona Ryder! Where has Ryder been all this time? She didn’t embrace television in the way many older movie stars have — and now, out of the blue, she turns up in a British spy thriller. But it’s good to see her again, and she (still) looks and acts pretty nicely. 

When Turks & Caicos ends, it leaves the story of Worricker dangling — the mystery on the island is solved, of course, but Worricker is now on the run again. But where can he now possibly hide? And now Johnny also has in tow his old lover, Bonham Carter. In a partially anticipated move, Worricker decides the safest place to hide is England! Because that’s the last place they will be looking for him in. ‘They’ constitute many spy agencies, including his own MI5 to the CIA to Interpol. Plus the other bad guys, the regular villains: rich, corrupt businessman and their hoods. 

Salting the Battlefield attempts to return us to the cool, clever sophisticated mix of espionage, wit and politics found in Page Eight but doesn’t quite get there though the pace does pick up, and some of the thrills of watching a good political thriller are felt. Worricker and his clever girlfriend (who was also once a spy) play hide and seek with a number of other clever spies, recalling a more cerebral version of the MAD comic strip, Spy vs Spy. But also spicing — or rather salting — the plot is a political conspiracy that is about to explode, thanks once again to Worricker, the disillusioned spy. The conspiracy is larger, if not as complex, and fine as the one exposed in Page Eight.  Missing here is that frisson you feel when Worricker stumbled on a state secret on Page 8 while indifferently reading an agency report. One waits for an appearance, even a brief one, from Weisz as the trilogy closes, but she does not come. Returning from Page Eight are Judy Davis and Saskia Reeves and an interesting new character, a leftist newspaper editor, played by Olivia Williams. The sequels to Page Eight are perhaps not a must-see unless you are also a big fan of Page Eight; however, if you haven’t seen Page Eight at all yet, then you’re missing one of the best political spy dramas in recent years. All told, the pleasure of the trilogy is in getting to see so much of Nighy at his dashing, polished English best.