![]() Writers Len Deighton and John Hoe, who returns after a hiatus of sorts, keep their teleplay straight and structured like a spy film of yesteryear. The rest is filled up by a manhunt peppered with surprises. Styled impeccably, and lit up like a classic noir movie, this series makes up for most of its charm with its nostalgic canvas. The writing in this show humanizes the people involved- be it a high-level Russian GRU agent working in Britain (David Dencik), or a British nuclear scientist who could go to jail for being gay. In the backdrop, subtly highlighted is America’s desire to control all espionage and monitoring of USSR activities. There’s also a somewhat crazy American general operating on British soil, who doesn’t trust his President (John F Kennedy) to do the correct thing when he works toward permanent peace and a potential disarmament treaty with Krushchev, the Russian head of state. There are references to the horrors of nuclear attacks on Japan that influenced the British spymaster, played by Tom Hollander, to prevent another bomb from going off in a mad, mad world. Written into the narrative of the new Ipcress File is Jean’s wish to become an espionage agent who doesn’t have to distract herself with a typical upper-class marriage. As the operation begins to go wrong, new information makes way into this missing person hunt and Palmer’s natural ability to play spy games across countries and cultures comes to the fore. Palmer is recruited, on the condition of delivering his target, and sent across the border with help from Britain’s American allies. Harry Palmer, serving time in military prison for contraband smuggling in the East Berlin sector, might be the one man to help a novel British spy agency track the scientist. ‘The Ipcress File’ stays true to the original story of a British nuclear scientist who is abducted by suspected Soviet goons and must be brought back to his homeland. Tom Hollander as spymaster is acerbic and brilliant, but that was to be expected. The female spy, Jean Courtney, is given more room to perform and deliver, but Lucy Boynton, looking picture-perfect in a stylist’s dream, doesn’t put in much effort to humanize her character. He is more arrogant, more condescending than the original Palmer, perhaps keeping with the current mood that completely rejects upper-class supremacy in society (a common flaw of British culture till date). Joe Cole (Peaky Blinders) steps into Sir Micheal Caine’s very large boots as Harry Palmer, the anti-Bond smuggler turned spy, quite smoothly. Excellent production design, artwork and camera work bring the quality of a film to this mini-series, providing a visual tribute to a bygone era of cinema and novels about spies and their games. James Watkins, who has directed ‘McMafia’, ‘The Woman in Black’ re-adaptation and ‘Eden Lake’, has created a world that transports you back to Cold War intrigue, tethering on the edge of nuclear war between political blocs. ‘The Ipcress File’, an adaptation of the novel by the same name by Len Deighton is a classic spy thriller set in an atmosphere of nostalgic drama and sharpened to fit in with 21st century viewing appetites. ![]() REVIEW: A throwback to classic spy stories almost never disappoints. He finds himself pulled into a dangerous undercover mission that uncovers untold secrets about superpowers. ![]() Smuggler Joe Cole, who is serving time in military prison, has to reluctantly turn spy for the British government to help find this man. ![]() STORY: At the peak of the Cold War when the nuclear arms race gets the US and allies preparing against the Soviet Union’s arms cache at full speed, a key British nuclear scientist is kidnapped.
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