We can’t get enough of spy thrillers. Just recently Lioness, The Agency, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Day of the Jackal, Slow Horses, and The Night Agent have entertained us. Not too long ago, Killing Eve, Jack Ryan, 24, Homeland, and The Americans graced our screens at home. The film world is jammed with spy thrillers, as well. James Bond and Mission Impossible have packed theaters for decades. The enticing recipe of the genre includes spies, assassins, unsolved murders, exotic locals, twists, turns, love, sex, suspense, double agents, and conspiracies. The CIA seems to be a common denominator. “We need to call Langley” is music to our ears. Black Doves has all that and adds a little pulp while amping up the blood splats.
Black Doves is a spies-for-hire organization that obtains secrets for the highest bidders, no matter who they are. Keira Knightley (Pride and Prejudice, Imitation Game) is Helen Webb, wife of the Secretary of State for Defense (Andrew Buchan, Broadchurch) who learns that her secret identification as a spy is in danger. After her lover is killed, she’s out for revenge. Her handler, Reed, played by award-winning British actress, Sarah Lancashire (Last Tango in Halifax) is worried about Helen’s conflicting loyalties. She sends Sam Young, played by Ben Whishaw (A Very English Scandal), to protect her, and perhaps, keep her under control.
Black Doves is a juggling act with several layers – a complex thriller, a dark comedy, and a family drama. Knightley and Whishaw bring it home by balancing their violent, secret lives with domestic activities that for them can never approach unfettered love. This all happening under the watchful eye of the insidious Lancashire. It’s entertaining and suspenseful as long as you don’t take it too seriously. We all are used to suspending disbelief in this genre – “man, these bad guys are bad shots” and if you’re the Defence Secretary, “Where is my wife at all hours of the night?” Black Doves (named after show creator Joe Barton’s favorite pub in Brighton) is set in London during Christmastime. The holiday atmosphere provides a festive juxtaposition to the chaos of the spy world.
(Black Doves is streaming on Netflix – six episodes about an hour each.)
D² Rating ◼◼◼◪☐
Trivia: Keira Knightley achieved worldwide stardom in what film 2003-2007 series?
Trivia: Ben Whishaw played which iconic character three times in what film series (2012, 2015, and 2021)?
Answers below
Answers: Knightley played Elizabeth Swann in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, The Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man’s Chest, and At World’s End.
Whishaw played Q in the James Bond series, Skyfall, Spectre, and No Time to Die.
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