The Night Manager - Limited Series Review
This review of The Night Manager is spoiler-free!
I watch a lot of television through my daily life, and I've come to a rather succinct conclusion that I'm sure some people won't agree with. That conclusion is that some of the best television to be seen will be found in shorter series such as mini or limited series productions. The reason for this belief is that when you're creating a show of that kind, you know what your end goal is and you don't have to focus on creating a narrative structure that lasts over multiple seasons and years. Having a short period of time to create a story and fulfill it means you will hit all of the necessary stories beats that you aimed for without trying to add in fluff material. You're focused on your story and nothing else. The Night Manager is another true example of the focused formula that comes along with a series of this kind, and I'm really excited to discuss it!
The Night Manager is all about Jonathan Pine, a former soldier in the British army and currently working as a night manager at the Nefertiti Hotel in Cairo, Egypt during the Egyptian Revolution that occurred in 2011. Quickly an organization comes to him with a possible mission to infiltrate the criminal alliance led by the businessman Richard Roper. In order to do this, he has to become a criminal and learn everything he can that can bring Roper to justice. Truthfully, I felt like the premise really nails the show, but the use of the hotel manager role just feels unnecessary to a degree. It makes sense that he is in Cairo as he has a military history, it just felt like you could forget that entire area of the story because the main focus on the series is on his time infiltrating Roper's group. Outside of that one concern, I did enjoy what we received in a story aspect. Sure this is a tried and true story of infiltrating another criminal group, but that doesn't make it bad in any sense. Adding in a few new elements makes it feel a bit Bondish while also keeping that investigative nature alive.
So, this show wouldn't be called The Night Manager without that actual manager in Jonathan Pine. Tom Hiddleston's main character is one of two anchors that this show has going for it through the six-episode run. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph he feels a bit like a quasi-bond. Throughout the season he meets a woman involved with Roper and falls in love with her, adding that relationship aspect to the story. Hiddelston's great in this mixed role of dark criminal and emotionally charged caretaker. It isn't the usual role that I expect from him after seeing his previous work, but he fits really well and this certainly does push forward the possible agenda of him becoming the next James Bond after Daniel Craig.
The other anchor for the show is without question Hugh Laurie who plays Richard Roper, the crime boss and essentially an international man of mystery to a degree. When I think of Hugh Laurie I don't necessarily go directly to the idea of him being a deceitful and terrifying man. This is an example of someone taking preexisting characteristics they have developed from previous work and finding new means to apply it to their roles. You feel bits and pieces of other characters he has done but he makes Roper so despicable you almost forget this isn't a real person we are seeing on screen in front of us. This is some of the best work I've seen from Roper and if he continues down this path I could see him becoming a mainstay in villainy work in the future.
Morality is often a question that we see tackled on television, sometimes in a bit more of a heavy-handed manner than a theme that is subtlely hinted at through strong dialogue and character action. In The Night Manager, we see a bit of the former and a bit of the latter. The strength of the morality clause in this show is that we get to see Jonathan Pine tackling his own inner thoughts of maybe he doesn't want to stick with the idea of being an operative and actually enjoys this member of a criminal enterprise, but he also finds that the women he loves ends up feeling the opposite and they have to help one another tackle their inner demons and make the right choices. Along with this, Pine is forced to do some horrific things through the run of the show that makes him question his true moral compass, and you can see in the quiet character moments that these events weigh on him and at some points cause him to struggle to keep up his guard.
In its entirety, The Night Manager feels like a combination of different types of shows and that works to the strength of the series as a whole. With a highly focused and character-driven story, it manages to beat out moments of slow down with powerful moments of questionable moral choices. If I were to point out a few things that I did not like throughout, it would be the generic story structure and character choices, as at times the story just feels like something you've already seen. There are also some characters that just feel like they're made for the genre and something you always see in stories of this kind. Outside of my few concerns, The Night Manager is an excellent show for those of us who don't have time to invest in a longer TV season and just for anyone who likes a good crime drama.
9/10
