Main Cast: Dominic Cooper, Lara Pulver, Anna Chancellor, Samuel West, Annabelle Wallis;
This four-episodes mini-series stars Dominic Cooper as legendary 007 writer Ian Fleming, and his real life spy exploits that influenced the Bond novels… well, a fictionalized version anyway. He is the second son from an affluent and well-connected family, always outshone in his widowed mother’s eye by his big brother Peter. It’s 1939 and Nazi Germany is on a rampage in Europe, Peter is doing his duty for King and Country while Ian hankers for something better in London, working at a job he clearly hates and giving into debauchery. To prove to his family and friends that he’s worth his salt, he enlists as a Navy Intelligence officer, putting to good use his undeniable skills of spinning tales and giving lies the ring of truth, along with his knowledge of German and European high society mores. His new boss Admiral Godfrey (West) and second officer Monday (Chancellor) are initially bemused by his brash attitude and unconventional ideas and methods, and they seem the blueprint for M and Miss Moneypenny or the other way around, who knows how much of this story is fiction. However Ian gets his way most of the times and he’s more successful than not in his job as “spy”. He also has a rather complicated love life, having a girlfriend, Muriel (Wallis), and an affair with a married woman, Ann (Pulver). The story is overall intriguing and Cooper pulls the suave persona off quite well, the dynamic with the other characters is quite convincing: playful banter with Monday, respectful/antagonising behaviour with Godfrey, torrid passion with Ann and idealised love with Muriel. The settings and cinematography are rich and colourful, glamour and danger dosed just right and there are plenty of homages and references to our favorite spy and his escapades. Entertaining and alluring. —7/10
Ramblings of a cinephile 