The BBC has adapted a few of best selling author John Le Carré's works into television mini-series. Most notable among these are Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People, both of which stared Alec Guinness.  In 1987 a third novel was given the mini-series treatment, Le Carré's most autobiographical work, A Perfect Spy.  While many of Le Carré's novels, and the films based on them, are gripping dramas, this story is better suited to the printed page.  This series ends up being a muddled and plodding affair filled with a host of unsavory characters that viewers will have trouble identifying with.

Magnus Pym was born in the decade before WWII to a father, Rick, who was an unscrupulous con man and a mother who was mentally ill.  He had little stability in his early years, his father going off to jail and his mother committed, he lived with relatives who didn't want him or was sent off to boarding schools.  When he did see his father, he was often used in his confidence games, smiling at little old ladies so they would sign over their life savings for Rick to "invest" for him.

Finding himself stranded in Bern after one of Rick's schemes went awry, Magnus enrolls in the university and starts attending school there.  He ends up befriending the man living upstairs from him in his boarding house, Axel.  This young man, a native of Czechoslovakia, was a member of the Axis army but destroyed his papers to avoid being captured by the Allies.  Now he's a poor man without a country who finds a true friend in Magnus.

Living just at the poverty level, Magnus doesn't mind making a little extra money when someone at his church, Jack, a member of the British Foreign Service, asks him to keep tabs on some of the radical student groups that are popping up.  Nothing to big, just getting the names of the members and their political affiliation.  When Axel's name turns up on one of the lists though, Magnus betrays his friend by letting Jack know that he's still wanted in his native country.

After returning home and getting through Oxford, Magnus once again meets up with Jack.  After the good job he did in Bern, Magnus agrees to take a position with the British Foreign Service, he becomes a spy.  He does a fantastic job of it too, creating networks of informants in other countries and uncovering some impressive secrets.  He soon rises in the ranks.

One of the reasons that he gets such good information though is his old friend Axel.  Magnus is really a double agent who feeds secrets to his friend and gets some in return.  Not only did Magnus betray Axel back in Bern, but he also betrays his country and everyone who ever trusted him.

If you come into this series thinking that it'll be a thrilling spy story with late night clandestine meetings and suspenseful races to get across the German border, you'll be sadly let down.  This movie examines the entire life of a spy, focusing on the events that shape his character rather than the cloak and dagger stuff that most spy movies are based on.  This series tries to explain why spies do what they do, and the psychological toll it takes on them.

Even given that this isn't an action-filled series, there are a few things with it that make it a less than appealing show.  The first thing is that there are no likable characters at all.   The show is filled with unsavory characters that it is hard to sympathize with.  Magnus, comes across as not that bright, and someone who is all to willing to do the wrong thing.  As he says near the end of the show, there were many times that he could have said "no" and turned away from deceit and betrayal, but didn't.  His father was much worse, stealing from old women and cripples, and lying at every turn.

There is no suspense or intrigue, or much that makes viewers want to turn in for the next episode.  This is because there is not much of a plot.  This show is just an extended character profile, which largely fails.  Even with all of the time spent on Magnus' childhood and past it's hard to understand his motivation much of the time.  A good example of this is his relationship with his father.  Magnus knows that he's a rotten scoundrel, he doesn't invite him to his wedding or let Rick see his own grandchild, yet he still feels like Rick controls him.  A lot of time was spent on this father/son relationship, but the actions that Magnus took in regards to his father were never fully explained.

The underlying message of the series is one that I don't agree with too.  Magnus was betrayed, again and again, by his father and those closest to him.  Therefore, so the series implies, his betrayal of those who trusted him is understandable and natural.  While that may or may not be true, it doesn't make his acts forgivable.  To perpetrate injustice because it was done to you is not an excuse or a good reason, and it doesn't make the person sympathetic.

Because of the scope of the series, it takes place over 50+ years, there is a lot that is left out.  The series consists of myriad little vignettes that are strung together, but they don't always make sense and it's hard to understand how much time has gone by between scenes.  Added to that is the fact that there is no solid plot threads that are strung through the show.  This makes it a rather dull and plodding series.

The one bright spot in this show is the acting though.  Peter Egan does an okay job as the adult Magnus, though the scenes where he breaks down and cries weren't terribly believable, but the rest of the cast was splendid.  Rüdiger Weigang is outstanding as Axel.  He plays the role just right so that you're never sure if he actually cares for Magnus or is just using him.  Jane Booker is also very good as Magnus' wife, but the real star of the piece was Ray McAnally who played Magnus' father Rick.  He stole every scene he was in.  McAnally was able to convey the sophistication and likablity that a con man has to have, while showing that this was only a thin veneer.  Underneath it all he was a slimy crook, and yet had his vulnerable moments.  A very, very good job.

Audio:

The stereo soundtrack was acceptable but not outstanding.  The dialog was clear, though some of the British accents were a little hard to understand at times, and the music was clean.  There is some light distortion and the range isn't very large, but no major problems.

Video:

The video quality wasn't as good as I was hoping for.  The full frame color image was soft overall, and a little dark.  Details disappear in the black areas and the colors were a bit muted.  There are some digital problems too.  Aliasing is a problem in many scenes and digital noise is present throughout.  Though the image is watchable and not truly bad, it could have been a lot better.

Extras:

The only extras included with this set are text biographies of the author and actors.

Final Thoughts:

I have no doubts that the book that this mini-series was based on is much better than the series itself.  This show didn't have the intricate layers of detail that a book can have, and too much was glossed over.  There wasn't a lot of plot to this show, instead of telling a story, it was a realistic character study of someone who became a spy.  The big failing for me was that I didn't like the main character, and never really cared what happened to him or what he did next.  The story took a long time to get rolling (the first two hours are devoted to Magnus' childhood) and it never really had ne intrigued or engrossed.  The acting was very good, especially among the supporting characters.  Because of that, this wouldn't make a bad rental if you have a lot of time to spare.