An ex-special forces operative (Tom Hiddleston), now working as a concierge at a Cairo hotel, fails to protect a female guest from a billionaire arms dealer (Hugh Laurie) and is later recruited by an intelligence officer (Olivia Colman) to infiltrate his camp. Susanne Biers TV miniseries is presumably dumbed down from John Le Carre's novel and filmed with a delicacy and sensibility that must be completely antithetical to the source material. The usually amusing Tom Holliander is obnoxious in a supporting role, Colman and Elizabeth Debicki are atrocioius in key ones, and Hiddleston's only acting approach is to flash a smile or a chuckle while inhabiting a character with inexplicable motives. The screen really only lights up when graced by Laurie, who is fun to watch playing a charming, complicated baddie.
** out of ****
