Paramount+ and Showtime’s “The Agency” doesn’t have the spy action that “Mission: Impossible” or James Bond fans might expect, but I found both episodes sent to press to be filled with sharp dialogue, incredible composition, and snappiness. Are constantly interesting. film production. In an age of mass escapism like “The Night Agent” (which has its value, don’t get me wrong), it’s exciting to see something that feels more inspired by John le Carré than Ethan Hunt. And it’s clear that this intellectual approach attracted some incredible talent. If this were an awards season movie, it would be a major player in the Oscar conversation based on pedigree alone. I’m not sure what it says about the current landscape that it’s buried on a streaming service that most people don’t have. Someone must go undercover to find out.
“The Agency” is based on a French series called “The Bureau”, which was reportedly created from real conversations with undercover agents. It tells the story of people so far behind enemy lines that we don’t even know the names of our heroes. A CIA agent nicknamed “The Martian” (Michael Fassbender) is unexpectedly fired from his current assignment, which has seen him spend six years in Addis Ababa, where he falls in love with a woman named Sami (Jodie Turner-Smith). Went. When he returns to London, he has to go through something called an “airlock” to get back to normal life, but things don’t seem quite right when he resurfaces in home life. For one thing, his apartment is a huge mess. Why was he thrown out so soon? And is it related to the urgent matter at hand: the capture of the agent known as “Coyote”?
It turned out that Coyote had a dangerous secret: he was an alcoholic. Although this is a great fight, it is a potential weakness for a spy if an enemy learns of it and forces the drug to disarm. The longer Coyote remains missing, the more the CIA will wonder whether a bottle of vodka made him talk, giving away information about other secret agents. This means that the Martian is actually returning to a lawless agency, which puts his questionable status on the backburner. Or does it? Are they connected? Why is he so secretive about his time in Ethiopia, even to his handler Naomi (Katherine Waterston)? And is it possible that Sami himself is keeping a secret? When she suddenly appears in London, it feels like this.
Analyzing and revealing all these ups and downs is one of the best artists of the year. Fassbender is excellent – at first seeming a little calculated in his great turn in last year’s “The Killer,” but immediately defined as a different kind of antisocial beast – and Turner-Smith is surprisingly convincing. Is mysterious. In The Office, audiences get the chance to see the always great Jeffrey Wright clash with his boss, played by a perfectly irascible Richard Gere, before a wonderful Harriet Sansom Harris jumps in as a doctor. Which has been sent to investigate these surfaces. Master of deception. Most effective is the increasingly charming John Magaro as another handler who tries to connect the dots. Following this backdrop of a seasoned spy and his seasoned colleagues, “The Agency” also tracks a new agent named Danny (Saura Lightfoot-Lyon), who is embarking on her first mission.
This incredible cast – there really is no weak link – is directed by the underrated Joe Wright, the man behind “Pride and Prejudice,” “Atonement” and more. He knows how to conceive and execute a show like this, he never talks down to his audience, assuming we are smart enough to stick with the characters who Don’t always explain what they’re doing or why they’re doing it. With so many shows feeling like constant exposition dumps, it’s enriching to see a show that understands that viewers can meet halfway with something like “agency”, and characters that don’t over-explain everything they do. Are more engaging than those that merely serve the plot.
Some people may consider “agency” too familiar. After all, we’ve seen stories of how spies have been ruined by personal relationships for generations. But we haven’t seen anything that balances the complexity of the world of espionage with the humanity of the people who put it together. Le Carré himself would love it.
Two episodes were shown for review. Premieres on November 29th,