Chris Knipp
A late comment, but I actually did watch this series when it was new, and obsessively, repeating episodes multiple times - at first. Now I'm coming back to it and rewatching it on Netflix streaming. I thought it was going to have lost its magic but no, for all its flaws it's still compulsively watchable. Many of the things said here that are contradictory are also true. The writing is pretentious and overwrought, but it's also a haunting and entrancing story. Yes, it's utterly absurd the things that happen, but some of the most basic emotions out of which the story is built - the loneliness and need, the romantic affair - are very real and memorable. Perhaps the relationship between Danny and Scottie is a gay old man-young man cliché, but it's still touching and real. The gay spy theme runs up into dangerous clichés too, but still is highly original. And after all, despite the negative stereotypes some have pointed to, this is a spy story where the gayness is not just a weapon or a liability but simply central, a given, and in that regard, Whishaw as an out gay actor can be proud to have played such a marvelous role in it. Above and beyond any specifics of the story there is simply the fact of Danny as a complex, attractive character, basically a mess, and yet utterly sexy and sweet, the kind of gay young man an old dear like Scottie would be happy to love and protect. Edward Holcorft I'm uncomfortable about. The actor seems so stiff and affected. But that also fits the character of Alex perfectly well: the flaw is in the conception of Alex by the minds behind the series. Jim Broadbent is a consummate pro. But obviously it's Ben Whishaw who makes it all worthwhile and he's touching, real, and as the boyish gay young man, utterly adorable. My excessive fascination with the character of Danny that Ben plays is what kept me coming back over and over, but it was outmatched by my pleasure in Whishaw's authentic and appealing performance, which is one of the best I've seen him in, and he's always good. He's one of the best actors of his generation, some even think the best. There are more mercurial and astonishing ones like Tom Hardy. None so cuddly as Ben though. Sorry I didn't see him as Hamlet.Then Charlotte Rampling comes along and though it's one of her "standard" roles there's nothing standard about her, she's terrifyingly off-putting, in top form. The second, post-Alex phase investigating Alex is very good. In it, everything in the first phase is undercut and mystified, and this is good, through it seems more programmatic and more far-fetched than the first. It's the last phase where things go down the rabbit hole into sheer nonsense. And you cease to be invested in the story as you were early on. Perhaps you knew this was going to happen. But you liked the overwrought-ness, the camp, so much you accepted anything, and the acting and settings and cinematography were so classy, it was okay. Then it's just bonkers, and it's all more or less thrown away.Everything is totally stylized. Some of the editing I find annoying, like the jump cuts and paralleled lines of dialogue in the gay love sequence. It all becomes cloying, too-too. And yet, and yet, guilty pleasure though it may be, it's compulsively watchable. I do not know about the other work of the much talked about Tom Rob Smith. I know director Jakob Verbruggen has done other good things. But in "London Spy," the story eventually deteriorates into the preposterous so you don't care about it. Yet it's made its impression, for the excessive but compelling craftsmanship and the magical acting of Ben Whishaw. For all its flaws this weaves a magic spell and leaves a special memory.
michaelmouse1
What an exceptional thriller this is. Clearly this is a star vehicle for Ben Wishaw, who drives this series in a breathtaking performance. Arguably one of the best television series produced so far, you'd be a hard case not to fall under its spell. The first two episodes indicate something clearly exceptional is at play here...the acting is stunning, the production values top notch and the weaving of a web-like story is so subtle you're trapped before you know it. The twists and turns will keep you guessing until the very end - nothing is what it seems. Or is it? It's so refreshing to see Gay main characters being treated respectfully and with gravitas, as they deserve like any other character. I only say this because their sexuality is intrinsic to the plot. If you're the slightest bit homophobic, this is not for you. It's no more explicit than the usual run of the mill films but the rarity of seeing two attractive men engaging in naked intimacy will be a celebration for some, a revelation for others and, unfortunately for conservatives, confronting. But if you tune out you're missing a real gem here. It's a thriller for everyone. It's deliciously slow in unfolding and goes down paths you won't expect. Like all series there are the odd stretches of credulity but, for the most part, the story-line is absolutely believable. It's nuanced, highly thrilling, sad, shocking and, ultimately very rewarding. Highly recommended! A stunner!
Bernie-56
I persisted with this in the hope it would improve. It never did. It started OK and deteriorated into a spy soap. Fine production standards but a weak, unbelievable plot full of holes. Some of Britain's finest actors couldn't save it. Why all the fuss over software than can reveal lies in facial expressions? Cal Lightman does that easily in "Lie To Me", that series using the Facial Action Coding System of 1978 as the plot basis. Really, the software is just a MacGuffin.London Spy might have been improved to a small degree if Ben Whishaw carried a pack of tissues or handkerchief and used them frequently. He is given to soulful, hang-dog looks and pointless meanderings in various parts of London and the Thames estuary. Quite remarkable, too, that on some days he'd get out of bed with a lighter beard than the night before. It's some feat to turn a three-day stubble into a two-day stubble overnight.
