Page Eight (2011)

Johnny works for MI5. His neighbor Nancy approaches him. When his best friend and boss suddenly dies, Johnny's left to sort out things about the PM, MI5 and US.

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 (Sir 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, this is a contemporary spy movie for the BBC, which addresses intelligence issues and moral dilemmas particular to the new century.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

New Century. New Rules.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Did You Know?

Trivia

Of the two 2014 'Page Eight' (2011) (TV) sequels, 'Turks & Caicos' (2014) (TV) and 'Salting the Battlefield' (2014) (TV), writer-director David Hare said: "We have assembled a most extraordinary cast for these two films. I think there may be two reasons for this - first and foremost, because so many actors want to appear alongside Bill Nighy, but secondly, because the audience responded so strongly to 'Page Eight' - which has all the fun of spy fiction and is bang up to date and based in the real intelligence dilemmas of the last ten years."

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Goofs

As Johnny Worricker is driving through Westminster at night he is listening to the Shipping Forecast which is broadcast at 00:48 and 05:20. The time on the Clock Tower (Big Ben) shows 01:53.

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Quotes

Nancy Pierpan: When you don't know the truth everything freezes and you can't move on.

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Connections

References The X Factor UK (2004)

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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

454th Review: An intelligent and competent political thriller

Bill Nighy really could be turning into this generation's David Niven - with a more world-weary edge, mind you, but he has an immense charm without any swarm, and puts it to excellent use in Page Eight. He plays a civil servant and security analyst coming to the end of his career in the upper echelons of Whitehall who discovers that politics and war are not honourable affairs.

With an outstanding cast and an intelligent plot this remains a thriller - but one without the usual resort to unlikely battles and chases - it is very British, both in its tone and in its look - and what we get is a very nice thriller indeed.

If you like 60s cold war spies movies, and want a break from the Bourne type, then this will fit the bill very nicely. Intelligent, beautifully paced and acted, and all in all a nice break from action films to something more purposeful and, really, a satisfying watch.

Details

Official Sites:

BBC TWO

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