Page Eight is well acted and well written but I found the ending implausible. It's a fictional story seemingly set in 2003. Britain has a prime minister (Ralph Fiennes) desperate to help America in its war on terror. He obtains evidence of US wrong doing but can't share this with his own officials. We are told the story could be politically damaging if it gets out. However, the film now seems like ancient history and it's hard to be shocked or to care.
Bush and Blair have become an embarrassment and the Iraq War is generally viewed as a huge mistake. Tony Blair now seems to have been wrong on most things including his eagerness to join the euro. Britain has since reassessed its role in the world and no longer wants to be America's "partner of choice." If this film had been produced in 2002 it may have had some relevance, but the world has moved on. Iraq now seems like a sad interlude that most people really want to forget. It explains why films about the war on terror are box office poison. The motivations of the PM are never explored, however that would have made a more interesting film.
Ultimately it was hard to believe that Johnny (Bill Nighy)a Cambridge educated MI5 officer would give up his career and pension to do the right thing. Things like that don't happen in Britain. I always thought David Hare distrusted the British establishment. In this film the men in the shadows become the real protectors of the national interest. Who would have guessed?
Bush and Blair have become an embarrassment and the Iraq War is generally viewed as a huge mistake. Tony Blair now seems to have been wrong on most things including his eagerness to join the euro. Britain has since reassessed its role in the world and no longer wants to be America's "partner of choice." If this film had been produced in 2002 it may have had some relevance, but the world has moved on. Iraq now seems like a sad interlude that most people really want to forget. It explains why films about the war on terror are box office poison. The motivations of the PM are never explored, however that would have made a more interesting film.
Ultimately it was hard to believe that Johnny (Bill Nighy)a Cambridge educated MI5 officer would give up his career and pension to do the right thing. Things like that don't happen in Britain. I always thought David Hare distrusted the British establishment. In this film the men in the shadows become the real protectors of the national interest. Who would have guessed?