Page Eight

Johnny Worricker (the inimitable Bill Nighy) dresses well, collects art and adores jazz. He invariably appears calm, cool and collected — but he’s always working. He’s been an MI5 agent since long before the close of the Cold War, and has learned to keep his observa­tional skills perpetually operational. He’s been through numerous prime ministers and nearly as many wives. Through it all, he’s believed in the job, a career Johnny’s supe­rior and oldest friend (Michael Gambon) calls “dishonourable work you could do in an honourable way.” But a top-secret document containing unsavoury revelations about torture and compromises made by Britain’s leader — along with an untimely death — will push Johnny’s professional abilities, as well as his integrity, to their limits.

Page Eight, the latest feature from ac­claimed writer/director David Hare (whose screenwriting credits include The Reader and The Hours), is every bit the juicy, sophis­ticated political thriller, riddled with intrigue and wit. This is handled with seeming effort­lessness not only by Nighy and Gambon, but also by supporting players Judy Davis, Ralph Fiennes (also featured in Coriolanus at this year’s Festival) and Rachel Weisz (who also appears in The Deep Blue Sea and the Gala presentation of 360). Weisz plays Johnny’s mysterious neighbour, whose sudden inter­est strikes Johnny as suspicious — yet as circumstances become increasingly desper­ate, she may also signal his salvation.

As the number of people Johnny can trust diminishes and his professional life becomes unmoored, he’s confronted by the growing rift between stubborn, old-school idealism and new-school cynicism. (He’s also preoc­cupied by the revelation that his daughter, to whom he rarely says the right thing, is preg­nant.) Will Johnny become a whistle-blower or retreat for the sake of his livelihood (and, quite possibly, his life)? Will anyone believe him if he tells the truth about Downing Street’s complicity with American crimes? Page Eight stays very close to Johnny as he navigates precarious political terrain, and it keeps us guessing where that troublesome file will end up right until its very last shot. –TIFF