On December 26, the espionage political thriller Derzhzmenu was released on Netflix, starring Charlie Cox and Olga Kurylenko. The script was written by Matt Charman, who was nominated for an Oscar for the script for Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies. In the review below, we tell whether it was possible to create an interesting story this time.
“State change” / Treason
Genre spy thriller, drama
Directors Louis Hooper, Sarah O’Gorman
In roles Charlie Cox, Olga Kurylenko, Ciaran Hinds, Adam James, Oona Chaplin
Premiere Netflix
Graduation year 2022
Site IMDb
A restaurant somewhere in London. A terribly serious uncle with a folder of highly classified materials threatens some high-ranking official with the announcement of a scandalous secret. When the upset interlocutor leaves, the smug blackmailer orders whiskey. A small sip of strong drink causes poisoning, which requires hospitalization as soon as possible.
The poison was poured into the alcohol by a former agent of the Russian special services and another owner of the unbearable name Kara Yusova. In the best traditions of stealth action games, she disguised herself as a waitress and smoothly brought her husband his order. The victim of an insidious spy, as it later turned out, was the head of MI-6, Martin Angelis.
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In his place comes a young young deputy Adam Lawrence. He plans to track down the criminals and figure out what game they are up to. But the situation starts to get out of control when Kara is linked with Adam. The main character is in a very difficult situation, as a result of which he will even be accused of treason.
At the end of the year, Netflix was attracted to spy passions. The recent “Blackmail” (our review is here) did not have time to leave the serial top of views on streaming, as new adventures of hard-working special agents have already unfolded there. However, if the story about an inexperienced lawyer from the CIA allowed itself jokes and a fashionable rap in every episode, “Betrayal” looks as serious as possible.
This is a purely spy story like “you can’t trust anyone”, which is done with a conscience. The intricacies of the plot lines look quite fascinating, the intrigue is kept at the right level, Kara from Kurilenko desperately harasses people to prove that she is a good Russian.
When you get to the second episode, and you’re already deep enough into the story, suddenly, bang, and the star of the Russian film industry, Danyla Kozlovsky, appears in the frame. He plays Russian businessman Anton Melnikov, who, I quote, “severed ties with Russia and was not sanctioned in connection with the war in Ukraine.”
And this is Melnikov promoting the right candidate for the post of Prime Minister of Great Britain in order to win the favor of Moscow and return home. The appearance of Kozlovsky turned out to be very unexpected, because there was no information about his participation in the series. This is real betrayal.
The Russian plays a small role and does not have time to focus on himself. But the British Charlie Cox, who recently celebrated his 40th anniversary, needs to diversify his filmography. Extortion is, of course, great, but you should not turn into an actor of one successful role.
It must also be said that the plot here sometimes amounts to out-of-this-world nonsense. Characters sometimes act illogically, their motivations are poorly revealed, and the fate of Great Britain will depend on how well the main character’s children behave. But the espionage suspense of “Derzhzmen” is built at a high level and somewhat compensates for these shortcomings.
In general, the 40-minute running time and only five episodes instead of the standard eight for Netflix seems to be a good decision. Such serial brevity allows us to talk about the good dynamics of the development of events. In other words, you will never be bored here. It’s interesting to watch.
At the same time, the plot not only manages to tell about the dirty laundry typical of the genre in the secret services and political circles, but also competently places all the pieces on the chessboard. Every side, be it MI6, the SZR, or even the CIA, like every character, is where it needs to be. If the main character has a good friend, then he cannot be trusted, and if it is a teenage child, then expect rebellious behavior that will lead to a lot of problems.
On the other hand, Charman tries not to deconstruct some archetypal images and genre paths, but to at least somehow update them. This refers to Una Chaplin’s character, who plays Lawrence’s wife. At first, she looks like a typical secondary character, a housewife with no right to reveal her character, who does not have a significant role. However, with the development of events, a lot changes.
In addition, do not expect a standard happy ending. The screenwriter had the courage to sacrifice the king when it came to chess. And in general, as a purely genre thing, “Betrayal” looks convincing, even if not without noticeable script conventions and shortcomings.
Pros:
an exciting plot, a good part performed by Charlie Cox, a competent distribution of the involved special services and characters, a serious tone of the story, a dramatic climax, a technically well-executed series, in general, a solid genre product
Cons:
a large number of plot conventions, not always logical behavior of the characters, their motivation is not sufficiently disclosed, Danylo Kozlovsky in the frame
Conclusion:
“Derzhzmena” is, first of all, a tense spy thriller that tries with all its might to hold the viewer’s attention. And this can be seen as his main merit. For the rest, there’s Ethan Hunt
