"Agent Running in the Field" by John le Carre

Year of Publication:  2019
Length:  366 pages
Genre:  Spy, thriller

This is the 26th book by British author John le Carré and he still has his finger on the political pulse of our troubled times.  The story revolves around Nat, a 47 year old veteran of the British Secret Service, who forms a friendship with a young man named Ed with whom he plays badminton once a week.  At first these games offer a respite from Nat's professional problems, as he is put in charge of an all but washed-up subsection of the Service, with a motley collection of spies.  However soon his personal and professional lives collide and Nat finds himself in an even murkier world of betrayal and intrigue.

This book deals with some of the most pressing political issues of our time and John le Carré is scathing against Brexit, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Boris Johnson.  However, this is not a political tract.  It mixes important messages with an exciting thriller plot full of interesting and engaging characters, and the story moves forward at a fast pace.  Despite being almost 80, le Carré has lost none of his ability to tell a story or remain engaged in the times that he is living in.  If you have never read le Carré before, this is a very good place to start.

 

Wittgenstein

Year of Release:  1993
Director:  Derek Jarman
Screenplay:  Terry Eagleton, Ken Butler, Derek Jarman
Starring:  Clancy Chassay, Karl Johnson, Nabil Shaban, Michael Gough, Tilda Swinton
Running Time:  75 minutes
Genre:  Drama, biography

This film is based on the life and work of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (played as a child by Clancy Chassay, and as an adult by Karl Johnson).  It plays out as a series of surreal sketches, against a black backdrop with only the actors and key props. Wittgenstein narrates the story of his own life, frequently breaking the fourth wall to address the viewer directly.  The film tires to get not the head of the philosopher and show his ideas and inner world, some of it is genuine fantasy, such as the frequent appearance of Nabil Shaban (probably best known for his occasional appearances on Doctor Who (1963-1989, 2005- )) as a furry green alien who turns up to chat with the young Wittgenstein.  Jarman regulars Michael Gough and Tilda Swinton appear as Wittgenstein's mentor Bertrand Russell and Lady Ottoline Morrell.  Clancy Chassay is good as the young Wittgenstein, and Karl Johnson gives a very strong performance as the tormented adult philosopher.  While it does at times feel like an offbeat fringe theatre production, the brightly coloured, exaggerated props and costumes make an effective contrast with the darkness that surrounds the action.  This was Derek Jarman's last but one film, and was made while he was dying of an AIDS-related illness, however this is one of his most playful and humorous films.

"If people did not sometimes do silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done."
- Ludwig Wittgenstein (Clancy Chassay) in Wittgenstein

Karl Johnson in Wittgenstein 

Tenet

Year of Release:  2020
Director:  Christopher Nolan
Screenplay:  Christopher Nolan
Starring:  John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh
Running Time:  150 minutes
Genre:  Thriller, science-fiction, spy

The Protagonist (Washington) is a secret agent who finds himself embroiled in a bizarre adventure involving weapons that are "chronologically inverted" meaning that they move backwards in time, and the effect comes before the cause.  These weapons have the potential to destroy the world due to entropy.

This film has had a difficult road to the screen, despite being one of 2020's most anticipated films, having been delayed three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Is it worth the wait?  Yes and no.  Tenet is almost textbook Nolan, for better and worse.  It features some incredible action set pieces, and much of it is really exciting, it also has some great performances, with John David Washington, in particular, impressive as the suave super-spy.  However the plot is extremely confusing and it is often hard to follow.  You really need to keep your wits about you the entire time, there is not much humour, and the dialogue is full of complex exposition.  It also has an air of coldness and detachment about the whole thing, which makes it hard to engage with the characters.  It is still worth seeing, though,  because when it is good, it is very very good, and there are times when it is an extremely exciting, complex thriller.

Robert Pattinson and John David Washington in Tenet 

"Exhalation" by Ted Chiang

Year of Publication:  2019
Length:  350 pages
Genre:  Science-fiction, short stories

In this collection of nine short stories by author Ted Chiang, a merchant in ancient Baghdad uses a time portal to try to fix past mistakes; an investigation into a seemingly small oddity causes an alien doctor to stumble upon a secret which could threaten the entire universe; a novelty device puts the entire question of free will into question; a new type of virtual pet develops intelligence and self-awareness; a Victorian robot nanny produces unexpected and disturbing side effects; a company develops software that could give an individual perfect recall of any event in their lives; the first contact with a non-human intelligence could come from much closer to home than anyone could guess; a scientist on a highly religious alternate Earth makes a discovery that could put all their beliefs into question; and a device that allows people to see into the lives of their counterpart in parallel universes leads to positive and negative outcomes.

This is the second volume of short stories by American author Ted Chiang, who is probably best known for his story "Story of Your Life", which was adapted as the film Arrival (2016).  The stories in this volume deal with some well-known science-fiction concepts, but they are dealt with in a refreshingly unique way.  The fantastical elements are well-rendered and intelligently realised, and the stories are more concerned with their impact on  human nature.  Chiang is a very good writer, who doesn't just craft intriguing and intelligent stories, but also deeply moving ones as well.  There is a real humanity and compassion here.  This is well recommended for anyone looking for great science-fiction, and also great contemporary fiction in general.

Sexy Beast

Year of Release:  2000
Director:  Jonathan Glazer
Screenplay:  Louis Mellis and David Scinto
Starring:  Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, Ian McShane, Amanda Redman, Cavan Kendall, Julianne White,  Álvaro Monje, James Fox
Running Time:  88 minutes
Genre:  Crime

Gal Dove (Winstone) is a retired British criminal who is now living happily in Spain with his wife DeeDee (Redman).  Gal and DeeDee's peaceful life is interrupted by the arrival of brutal gangster Don Logan (Kingsley) who wants Gal to take part in a bank robbery in London.  Gal wants no part in it, but Logan refuses to take no for an answer.

This film, which marks the feature debut from director Jonathan Glazer, has a fairly straightforward plot, but is elevated by a razor sharp and witty script with great performances, particularly from Ben Kingsley who is terrifying as the unpredictable sociopath Don Logan.  Ray Winstone provides the film's dramatic heft as the ex-crook who just wants to be left in peace, and Ian McShane is striking as the urbane, dead-eyed crime boss who is arranging the heist.  No one else in the film really gets much room to make an impression.  These three guys get the lion's share of the screen time and dialogue.  Contrasting the gorgeous, sun-drenched Spanish landscapes with the grey, dull, urbanity of London, the film is visually impressive, although the occasional surreal fantasy sequences are distracting and out of place.  Much of the tension in the film is from the verbal sparring between Logan and Gal, the threat of violence rather than the actual act, although the film does culminate in some shocking violence.
While this may not be the best British gangster film ever made, it is certainly above average.

Ray Winstone in Sexy Beast       

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote

 Year of Release:  2018

Director:  Terry Gilliam

Screenplay:  Terry Gilliam and Tony Girsoni, based on the novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

Starring:  Adam Driver, Jonathan Pryce, Stellan Skarsgård, Olga Kurylenko

Running Time:  132 minutes

Genre:  Action-adventure, comedy

Toby (Driver) is a disillusioned director who is in Spain shooting a commercial based on the story of Don Quixote, he also happens to be near the location of his student film, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, which he made with non-professional actors ten years previously.  Toby runs into his star, a cobbler, Javier (Pryce), who now believes that he really is Don Quixote, and that Toby is his loyal squire, Sancho Panza.  Javier drags Toby off in search of adventure.

This film has become almost notorious, due to how long it has been in the works.  Gilliam had been attempting to make a film based on Miguel de Cervantes' 17th century novel Don Quixote, since about 1990, and there have been several aborted attempts to film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, one of which has been immortalised in the 2002 documentary film Lost in La Mancha, so Gilliam deserves some credit just for getting the thing made.  Is the finished film worth waiting nearly 30 years for?  No.  Is it a good film and worth seeing?  Yes.  This features both the good and the bad of Terry Gilliam's work.  It is sprawling, overlong, uneven and indulgent.  It is also ambitious and imaginative.  When it is good, and it is good very often, then it is truly wonderful.  At it's worse, it's just a mess but, despite it's generous running time, it's never dull.  It's also surprisingly dark.  Adam Driver is good as a pretty unlikeable character, and Jonathan Pryce is great as the frail but noble Don Quixote who becomes almost admirable in his romantic delusion.  Stellan Skarsgård is good as ever as Toby's formidable Boss, and Olga Kurylenko is very good, if underused, as the Boss' seductive wife, Jacqui.  The film covers some very familiar Gilliam territory:  The individual versus society, dreams versus reality, and the nature of sanity or insanity.  The film looks fantastic throughout with some striking locations and set pieces.  When looking at Terry Gilliam's career, it is easy to see why Quixote holds such an attraction for him, and he is to be admired for succeeding in his quest to get this film made.

It is not a perfect film, and it may not be the masterpiece that Gilliam fans may have hoped for, but it is a flawed, enjoyable, eccentric work touched by moments of genius, and I will take that over the bland, committee led franchise fare that seems to make up a lot of modern movies any day of the week.  

Adam Driver and Jonathan Pryce ride out in The Man Who Killed Don Quixote