Florence Pugh has been wowing those who love Marvel for a while now as the assassin and secret agent Yelena Belova. I wasn’t surprised when she was given the role. She was outstanding in one of the best spy TV thriller shows of the 2010s. Marvel Studios reportedly had been considering her for the role of Belova since 2018. That wasaround the time she starred in the spy thriller series The Little Drummer Girl, a six-episode adaptation of John le Carré’s 1983 novel.
Created by Michael Lesslie (Assassin’s Creed) for the BBC and directed by Park Chan-wook (Oldboy and The Handmaiden), The Little Drummer Girl is the second adaptation of the book by the same name. The series updates the story told in the 1984 movie starring Diane Keaton. It’s now one of the highest-rated spy shows of all time and holds an approval rating of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. I would like to ask why Pugh and Chan-wook never won any BAFTA trophies for their work.
‘The Little Drummer Girl’ Tells a Story of Beating the Enemy Using Their Own Playbook
Film critics, especially in the pre-millennium Ebert and Siskel era, were like riled, unhinged wolves when they scented blood and saw an easy target. Their pack savagery was evident when the first adaptation of le Carré’s novel was released. The movie had some excellent scenes that could have passed as cutting-edge stuff back in the ’80s. However, many critics focused on director George Roy Hill’s decision not to flesh out all the main characters and leave much of the heavy lifting to Diane Keaton. Today, the adaptation has a 55% Rotten Tomatoes score. So, whoever was next had to do an excellent job. Thankfully, Pugh and the team delivered with The Little Drummer Girl.
The series opens with a bang… literally. The story starts in 1979 West Germany, and before we can appreciate the old architecture, Palestinian militant Michel (Amir Khoury) targets an Israeli diplomat using a Semtex bomb but accidentally kills her eight-year-old son. Since the higher-ups at Mossad are furious, they ask spymaster Martin Kurtz (Michael Shannon) to eliminate the Palestinian terror cell. Kurtz quickly learns that Michael often seduces vulnerable young women and convinces them to attack. He plays Michel at his own game, recruiting English stage actress Charmian “Charlie” Ross (Florence Pugh) to infiltrate the terrorist’s inner circle.
By mostly sticking to the author’s vision, the writers and directors of Little Drummer Girl made one of the best John le Carré adaptations. But I think the show is great for several reasons. Pugh’s role is layered, and the Spider-Man: Brand New Day star cruises through it all brilliantly. She’s an actor playing a character who has to “act” every second. Park Chan-wook also wows us with his signature visual style, blending symmetrical scene compositions with bold color palettes. It’s a shame the Broccolis never gave him a call while they were in charge of Bond. And it would be an injustice not to mention Michael Shannon. I don’t think there has even been a more composed actor.
‘The Little Drummer Girl’ Isn’t Entirely Faithful to the Book
While some changes were made in the book-to-screen adaptation process, the story still stays true to John le Carré’s work. In fact, the author, who died two years after the series was released, praised it, calling Florence Pugh’s work the “performance of her life.” He also appreciated the director’s precision and even had a Hitchcock-style cameo.
One of the biggest changes involves Charlie’s approach to the mission. In the book, Le Carré deeply examines the psychological destruction the protagonist faces while “acting” in a dangerous real-world espionage scenario. This is hard on her mental health. While the TV series also hints at trauma and fear, Florence Pugh’s character is mostly depicted as committed and resilient, a model of the typical female super-shy character.
The visuals also don’t match what’s described in the book, but that’s a good thing, at least in my opinion. Park Chan-Wook included lush color, expensive costumes, and gorgeous scenes. That’s what I prefer my spy TV shows and movies to look like. I don’t enjoy watching gray and moody ones, like Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy. But Le Carré describes his scenes as gray and moody in his novel. After all, this is Europe during the Cold War days. It’s accurate, but I’ll take the TV version.
This ends my time trying to drum up support for Little Drummer Girl. Enjoy it on Prime Video.
- Release Date
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2018 – 2018-00-00
- Network
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BBC
