Spoilers

This has been on my watchlist for a while, its intrigued me & i think its going to be my cuppa tea. So you can imagine my delight on Monday morning when i get my Letterboxd update to say this film has been added to Netflix over the weekend, get in. So it was time to watch this & be intrigued by it.

so did every film make in 2008/09 take something or was there magic in the air, because almost every film that came out in the year 2010, was bloody epic & stunning & so clever & this one is included in that. What a rich year for films that was, we were so lucky & we didnt realise at all.

First of all this was made over a decade ago & yet would i put it past any of our current or past politicians around the world to behave like this today… nope. They are still dodgy & corrupt & just spinning everything & i think thats why i really liked this. I was imagining which of our MPS would be this shady & dodgy & just have no morals at all & the list was huge. Im glad they showed the bad side of politics behind the sense & how everyone around them is just in it for themselves.

Ewan McGregor as the writer (he has no name in the film i love it when films do that) is brilliant. As he learns you learn to & hes asking all the questions you want to know too. & you are also constantly worried for his safety throughout & how he is being perceived. I mean he does go above & beyond to find out the truth & ultimately it back fires for lots of people. But he is so compelling & even when he goes off on one its just wow.

Pierce Brosnan as the ex PM is just a seedy as you would expect him to be. I mean i dont want to be libal, but he is definitely based on a certain PM in my life time. I also like how he isnt in the majority of the film, but due to the book & the scandals going down he feels constant. & i think thats what makes his assassination (i did say spoilers at the top) even more of a shock. They had argues & he was willing to start talking & bang hes dead. I mean that random guy from earlier i knew would come back to do something but i wasnt expecting that. I did drop my popcorn when that happened. I didnt think the film would have the guts to kill him off after all of that.

I liked the whole murder mystery who knew what who did it, was it random or did he kill himself or was he killed. I really enjoyed that. I learnt so much about all the characters be it so big or minor. It was so clever to introduce people you needed or not, i mean Tom Wilkinson turning up at the end of Act 2 randomly & then being so important. I didnt see that coming at all & then i wanted to know more about him & that house & the car.

also huge shout out to Ferrys being so important & Sat Navs remembering your last trip without even remembering it. I meant those Ferry guys must have been so pissed off that the same car had been left on the boat twice in like 2 months, whats all that about.

No one trusted anyone, so i was amazed when he managed to steel that script or prove he wasnt wearing a wire. I really didnt know who was actually a friend or foe in it. & that in itself is a bit like politics, because in all honesty they dont care about us the little guy ( the writer) because its all about the power struggle be it uk/us, sleeping with someone for the power. They are all just as corrupt as each other.

The war crimes… oh yes they went there, brave film to do that after such a little time at the time to do that in the film. I mean its a wink wink you know if you know, you get me, but im glad they did that.

I didnt like the wife from the start, there was always something about her that i didnt trust. & then when he works it out & informs everyone secretly that shes basically behind it all & is the spy for the CIA is madness. & then when you realise it all you see it all & you just go oh for fuck sake it was hiding in plane sight.

Ive not seen that much rain or bad weather constantly in a film in a long time. I mean its nice they did that, it added to the mood, but it wasnt even uk weather was it. Poor house keeper trying to stop all that from going on.

The shut down lock downs were a bit on the edge of the seat, but i liked that. I know i often moan about adding drama for the sake of it in film, but this film it needed to be ramped up randomly from time to time & it did it so well.

I love when films start one way & then the ending foreshadows it… I love that. I really do. & i love that you just see all the paper fly up the road. Was he okay, is he dead? Was it an accident? was he taken out after all he learnt? & we never know & i love that. An ambiguous ending especially one that foreshadows the start is always so satisfying. I love that, but i am upset that we may never know if the truth really did get out.

I had a bloody good time watching this film. I was so intrigued & so engaged that when it ended i was like hang on were done, oh wow. I wanted more in a good way but i also didnt want more. It ended at the right point. Everyone acted their arses off & it so engrossing. If you love a political thriller about the dodgyness behind that world, this is definitely the film for you.