Page Eight (2011)

Johnny Worricker (Bill Nighy) is a long-serving MI5 officer. His boss and best friend Benedict Baron (Michael Gambon) dies suddenly, leaving behind him an inexplicable file, threatening the... See full summary »

Director:

David Hare

Writer:

David Hare

Stars:

Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, Tom Hughes

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bill Nighy	...	Johnny Worricker
Rachel Weisz	...	Nancy Pierpan
Tom Hughes	...	Ralph Wilson
Michael Gambon	...	Benedict Baron
Judy Davis	...	Jill Tankard
Rakhee Thakrar	...	Muna Hammami
Saskia Reeves	...	Anthea Catcheside
Ewen Bremner	...	Rollo Maverley
Felicity Jones	...	Julianne Worricker
Richard Lintern	...	Max Vallance
Holly Aird	...	Anna Hervé
Andrew Cleaver	...	Brian Lord
Kate Burdette	...	Allegra Betts
Ralph Fiennes	...	Alec Beasley
Alice Krige	...	Emma Baron

Storyline

Johnny Worricker (Bill Nighy) is a long-serving MI5 officer. His boss and best friend Benedict Baron (Michael Gambon) dies suddenly, leaving behind him an inexplicable file, threatening the stability of the organization. Meanwhile, a seemingly chance encounter with Johnny's striking next-door neighbor and political activist Nancy Pierpan (Rachel Weisz) seems too good to be true. Johnny is forced to walk out of his job, and then out of his identity to find out the truth. Set in London and Cambridge, PAGE EIGHT is a contemporary spy film for the BBC, which addresses intelligence issues and moral dilemmas peculiar to the new century.

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Plot Keywords:

mi5 | spy | political thriller | blackmail | prime minister | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 November 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Worricker Trilogy

Filming Locations:

Chelsea Embankment, Chelsea, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Heyday Films, Runaway Fridge TV, Carnival Film & Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

TV ratings: On its British premiere on television on BBC2, on August 28th 2011, it managed an impressive 3.56m (15.7%) of audience between 9pm and 10.45pm.

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Goofs

In one scene we witness a lock being manipulated by a pick set, ostensibly to gain entry to a property. However, the pick and lever are only momentarily wiggled around in the lock before the door gives way. Many productions make the same mistake, the pick only bypasses the pins in the lock, however the cylinder still needs to be rotated as it would be with a key in order to actuate the lock.

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Quotes

Johnny Worricker: I had a feeling that if I asked a favour you were a sort of person who'd come through.
Nancy Pierpan: You trust me. Why on earth would you trust me?
Johnny Worricker: Because that's the job. Deciding who to trust. That's what the job is.
Johnny Worricker: Also, you told your father that I work for the Home Office.
Nancy Pierpan: I lied.
Johnny Worricker: Yeah.
Nancy Pierpan: You trust me because I lied.

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Connections

Followed by Turks & Caicos (2014)

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Soundtracks

Fine and Mellow
written by Billie Holiday
Used by kind permission of Carlin Music Corp
Performance of Billie Holiday used with permission as presented

User Reviews

Fantastic piece of television

Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, and Michael Gambon in very good form, playing charmingly audacious characters. The Security Service, and the sense of 'England' that is built around it, are both portrayed in an amusingly artsy, lighting-a-cigarette-under-a-lamppost-to-the-tune-of-modern-jazz manner that some might might find annoying - but which I felt more to be endearing. And a refreshing contrast to the bleak picture of the world and it's intelligence services painted in other modern spy shows, 'Spooks' being the prime example.

The story seems to ramble a little, at first, and is not as tight or conventionally depicted as audiences might be used to, but it soon picks up - leading to a 'Johnny on the run' sequence that is as good as any other staple 'spy in hiding' romp in any TV espionage thriller of recent years, but one which is much more believable and down-to-earth. An unexpected conclusion left me praising Nighy's character for doing the right thing, in normal person terms, rather than 'the right thing' in the usual On Her Majesty's Secret Service terms that we're usually force-fed by spy drama - one of the many things that made the character and those around him seem less like a phantom, emotionless government spook, and more like a human being.

Well worth watching.