MovieChat Forums > The Night Manager (2016) Discussion > It's okay but simplistic

It's okay but simplistic

posted 8 years ago by jmbwithcats
2 replies | jump to latest

Right from the start this becomes more and more clear... mistress sent to make highly top secret copies at the hotel front desk, like who would send the girl to do that, wouldn't criminals have their own secret printer? Then Pine shows up as the chef, beaten or no, any smart criminal has to suspect that was a ruse... I love Hugh Laurie but his character lacks presence... or formidability befitting his station... then the wife spills about arms deals to him... he seems to get everyone to trust him without even trying, and so quickly... episode 2 and 3 just kind of coast along and are rather mediocre...

I heard someone say the show is overrated, and at the moment I am bound to agree, but I won't make a final judgment until I've seen a bit more... I know great shows take time to simmer...

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[–] Mellucy 8 years ago

I agree with you. I think the story was rushed and Roper was too quick to trust Birch/Pine. He should have put him to the test a longer time before handing him over his company. Surprising mistake from such an experienced man. Also the way he let things go down the drain with Corky--who was a long-time trustworthy person--was too easy on Birch.
Did you watch the last three episodes? What did you think of the ending?

[–] starsprent 8 years ago

I had heard a lot of praise showered on this show and was disappointed, quite a bit in fact, by the opening episodes. I felt the show luxuriated a little too much in its exotic landscapes and scenery; felt the fight scenes were sloppy and ersatz Jason Bourne; and felt Hiddleston was unconvincing as the mysterious, brooding stranger. Unconvincing because it's emptiness at the beginning that defines him, not enigma, and that's part of the point of the show and his character's journey.

But I think the show gets more interesting when the two leads begin to interact. The show narrows and becomes more interior. Nano-expressions on the characters' faces speak volumes, more than the landscapes the show frequently wallows in order to emphasis its globe-trotting credentials. And when Pine emerges as a man of honour. Enough times throughout the series Pine flirts with the temptations of the world of Roper's, enough times his own vulpine nature asserts itself, that you believe Pine is far from incorruptible.

That's why I can suspend my disbelief when it comes to Pine so easily acquiring Roper's intimacy. There are enough glimmers in Hiddleston's face to suggest he might possibly consider rationalising Roper's megalomania, and the more he's with Roper the greater this sentiment grows. In fact I think it's only during Roper's dramatic (and nauseating) presentation of his firepower does Pine's conscience begin to truly kick in and his image of Roper curdle.

The show is all about Pine discovering who he is and what he believes. Earlier there are references made to his almost monastic lifestyle. His physical removal from the world is also a kind of moral hibernation. Only through interacting with the world does Pine begin to determine a moral identity, a set of parameters and red-lines to underpin any fluctuations in his physical identity--his passport, his material markers and associations. To me this is the satisfaction of the show. Pine's rubbing up against evil in Roper and this experience ultimately bringing forth a self-awareness he never had.