The
BBC’s Sunday night espionage thriller is an adaptation of a John le Carré’s
(real name David John
Moore Cornwell) novel published in 1983. Le Carré, who worked for MI6 in
the 1950s and ‘60s had an insight into the workings of the murky world of
intelligence. His novels at least present a more realistic view of espionage;
as opposed to the glamour of Ian Fleming’s James Bond. The Little Drummer Girl takes us back the
late 1970s and the world of ultra-leftist terrorism and its connections to the
Palestinian liberation movement. I have often wondered about the logic of the
plot; Israeli intelligence recruit Charlie (Florence Pugh), a left-wing,
English actress, to assassinate a prominent Palestinian. Charlie’s handler,
Joseph (Alexander Skarsgård), convinces her
that this will bring about an end to the conflict and a Palestinian State.
The story is about manipulation; a young
idealistic actress by an unscrupulous intelligence service as well as the idea
of an innocent abroad. Charlie, a supporter of the Palestinians, is now drawn
into the armed struggle and becomes out of her depth. Meanwhile the idea of
imperialist intelligence agencies manipulating ultra-leftist organisations is
not unheard of. In 1976 the Italian Red Brigade murdered the centre-right
Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro; it is common knowledge that that Red Brigade
was subject to manipulation by the CIA.
This six-episode television series is the
second adaptation of the book; a film version came out in 1984 with Dianne
Keaton playing Charlie. In the film version Charlie was a woman in her 30s,
whereas in this version she is in her early 20s. Arguably a television series,
because of its length, creates better opportunities to show the subtleties
needed for a Le Carré story. Subtlety and detail are important in his stories.
For instance, in a bomb making scene the words “Made in USSR” are shown on a
clock. It is through detail that the programme successfully captures the late
1970s; a period I only remember as I child. The programme reminds us of a time
when cigarette smoking was the norm and a scene in a fast-moving car reminds us
that seat belts were not mandatory.
Joseph contacts Charlie and her actor
friends by posing as some kind of mystery man reading a book about Salvador
Allende, which being lefties they view positively. He woos her by taking her to
Athens and showing her the Acropolis by night; he suddenly ends their romantic
embrace and takes her on a car journey to meet the other Israeli intelligence
operatives.
The programme is sickeningly pro-Zionist.
It’s only reference to the Palestinian cause is with regard to terrorism –
there is a scene where an Israeli intelligence officer shows a younger
operative the monument to the athletes killed in 1972. No mention as to why
they might have turned to armed struggle in the first place. Charlie and her
fellow lefties are shown as naïve and pretentious. In a scene towards the end
of Sunday’s programme a Palestinian, who has successfully evaded the Israelis
for years, is easily captured by an attractive female operative posing as a
hitch-hiker. Through good directing however, both Pugh in particular and Skarsgård utilise their acting skills to the
maximum. I have seen worse things on Sunday nights.
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