BAFTA - ARE YOU WATCHING?

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Just stumbled across this by accident and is one of the best modern espoinage thrillers I've ever seen. Agree totally about Arsher Ali's sinister Waleed. While modern spy dramas like Spooks and Homeland claim a veneer of authenticity they are essentially closer to enjoyable 007 caper fantasy.

Real life spies try to emphasise the long haul, research tedium and leg work of their surveillance and that it is never an exact science at the end of it. I got a believable sense of that through Oyelowo's Edward as well as the strains and responsibilties his role entails.

This offers no easy answers to the rights and wrongs of waging war against international terrorism but that is where its strength lies. It delivers as any great drama should in quesioning our symapathies. Edward is a professional and noble man who we see frustrated by his seemingly bureaucratic superiors with an air of dismissive racism about them. As it progresses you are asked to question his judgement and that rules are laid down for a reason as we see the consequence of him being outplayed by Waleed.

Also noticed Oyelowo collaborated with writer Guy Hibbert on another excellent piece of work Blood and Oil which tries to lay bare the complexities of oil, corruption and politics in West Africa.

Unless they recognize TV. Because believe it or not this is a TV movie and Arsher Ali I believe did get a award for Outstanding Actor in a TV movie for some TV award they have in England. I was floored The movie looked so well polished. the plotting was excellent. Most of the people who make so called theatrical movies made in America need classes from actors and writers in this movie. BTW the protagonist was a big star from a TV show called MI5 where he played a agent also.