Review of Page Eight (2011) by Patryk C — 03 Jul 2012

Page Eight, directed and written by playwrite David Hare, is a movie that seems to be crafted for an audience that has long been gone from the cinema multiplexes and perpetually dwell in the PBS Masterpiece Theater and HBO of TV.

Yet, Page Eight is strangely as empty as a lot of the actioners that Hollywood churns out and you know there is something wrong when you come out of a movie like this with a very lukewarm and slightly disappointed feeling.

Unlike, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy or Syriana, Page Eight is meant to be a straight forward political intrigue thriller. There's no fancy editing, no overly cryptic dialogue, and no multiple flashbacks.

In fact, everything from the writer and director to the cast should point to a highly intelligent and powerful political drama but it just isn't really worth the running time. The main problem is how the story is mainly structured.

David Hare's dialogue is superbly intelligent and some of the debate scenes behind closed doors are surprisingly chilling. Indeed, Page Eight starts off very strong and powerful. Yet, as the conspiracy develops more and more and more, the entire movie meanders.

I would say that the scene when Ralph Fiennes and Bill Nighy is the final scene with a strong point as everything after that just seems a bit pointless and drab and all this leads to a very bizarrely uninteresting finale.

Ultimately, the film's development lacks a point. The Prime Minister knew questionable activities as well as dirty dealings when he promises to be a vanguard against Western political corruption. That's enough to develop an interesting premise but that's not enough to develop an actual point to a movie and it seems like David Hare didn't really know what to do after he got the idea for the movie.

Page Eight is only saved by a brilliant cast and some very sharp dialogue, but there are more insightful political movies out there that might be worth more your time.