PopHorror Let's Get Scared
David Farr’s The Night Manager is a miniseries based on a novel of the same name by John le Carré. With an enormously talented cast of Tom Hiddleston (Avengers, Crimson Peak), Hugh Laurie (House, Stuart Little), Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby, Tenet), and Olivia Colman (Hot Fuzz, The Crown), this series had me mesmerized. I couldn’t stop watching The Night Manager once I started it. Every time an episode ended, I would be left anxiously biting my lip needing to know what would happen next. You can’t really put The Night Manager into any one genre; it’s a drama, thriller, mystery, romance, and crime all in one. It really does have something for everyone.
The Night Manager plays over the course of six intense episodes as we follow Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston), who is working as the night manager of a Cairo hotel. Pine gets involved with a local woman named Sophie (Aure Atika), the girlfriend of a local gangster. Through her relationship with the gangster, she has acquired information linking illegal international arms sales with Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie), an English billionaire. After Jonathan tries to protect Sophie after she is beaten for giving him this information, he falls for her and she is soon murdered by Roper. Pine flees, ending up working at a remote hotel in Switzerland.
Four years pass. When Roper ends up visiting the Swiss hotel with his wife, Jed Marshall (Elizabeth Debicki), this rekindles Pine’s thirst for revenge. He is then enlisted by Angela Burr (Olivia Colman), the manager of a Foreign and Commonwealth Office task force investigating illegal arms sales, to infiltrate the inner circle of arms dealer Richard Roper. What follows is a very dangerous game of intrigue and deception.
The Night Manager is honestly *Chef’s kiss*. I say this because everything from the script to the cinematography and acting is absolutely brilliant.
Tom Hiddleston beautifully portrays Pine. He is able to show you the pain his character has by simply using his eyes. Not many performances can move me, but Hiddleston’s managed to do it. There is a scene in which Jonathan and Sophie have an intimate moment, and there is a close up on Hiddleston’s face… It sent a shiver down my back and made my eyes water, not because it was sad but because it was a very powerful moment. That feeling continued through out the series. Another example is when Pine finds Sophie’s body. It is so heartbreaking and gut wrenching.
Hugh Laurie is perfectly cast as the villain of the story, Richard Roper. What do they say? Hate the character not the actor. That’s what I had to keep telling myself. Yes, I’m still not over the fact that he helped steal Dalmatian puppies for Glenn Close, but who can blame me! Yet somehow, he is so much worse in The Night Manager… in a good way, of course. Roper is a man who makes money off death and destruction, not caring who he hurts along the way.
Along the way, you meet Roper’s wife, Jed Marshall. I love Jed. She’s someone who has sacrificed a lot to try and make a better life. When I saw her, I saw someone who had lost the light inside her, someone who craved to escape the life she was living.
Finally, we have Angela Burr. Angela is a women who has devoted her life to trying to stop Richard Roper and the pain he causes. She is such a strong person to look up to. She never gives up on Jonathan or the hope of one day getting Roper. She doesn’t back down, no matter what whether it’s people threatening her or not getting the support or resources she needs, she does not stop.
I really can’t tell you enough to go and watch The Night Manager.I watched it on Prime, but once I finished it—at two in the morning I might add—I knew I had to get a hold of a hard copy, and that’s exactly what I did. I wanted to watch The Night Manager because of Tom Hiddleston… the man is gorgeous! However, I ended up finding a new favorite miniseries. Go check out The Night Manager; I promise, you won’t regret it! 
I would also like to wish Tom Hiddleston a big Happy Birthday!!
He turns 40 on the 9th of February.
