“Black Doves,” Netflix’s latest thriller series, has it all. The dialogue is both clever and funny. There’s lots of political intrigue and Keira Knightley hasn’t been this action star since “Domino.” The award-winning actor Ben Whishaw is awesome as usual and there is one (literally) bloody shocking twist after another.
The setting is London during the Christmas holidays where Helen (Knightley) is married to UK Secretary of Defense Wallace Webb (Andrew Buchan), the mother of adorable fraternal twins and unbeknownst to Wallace, a spy feeding much of what goes on at 10 Downing Street to secret intel group, Black Doves. Helen’s information has been “lucrative” according to her handler. As is the case with these types of plots, when something goes very wrong and threatens to expose Helen, her long-time ‘Dove’ conspirator Sam (Whishaw) is sent in to help.
Up until this upset, life on the surface for Helen and Wallace has been a whirlwind of government parties, charity do’s, meetings with the Prime Minister and school runs with the twins. When the Chinese Ambassador dies unexpectedly while in London along with three other people, China officially rejects the autopsy report. To make matters worse, one of the victims is Helen’s lover. Now she must try to avenge him without blowing her cover. Sam, her friend and protector is dragged back into the business of being a hitman. Another big question: What, if anything, does Wallace know about the scandal that is sure to affect him politically as well as personally?
Knightley, a megastar of the early to 2000s with “Bend It Like Beckham,” “Atonement” and the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise brings just the right amount of savvy expertise to Helen, a long-time spy who has grown melancholy about where she fits in her double life. The same can be said for Whishaw (Sam), so good at bringing vulnerabilities to even the most nefarious characterizations, who doesn’t disappoint. Sam is torn between the life he’d like to lead with his ex-partner Michael and what he does for a living.
Sarah Lancashire, maybe best known stateside for her portrayal of earnest policewoman Catherine Cawood in “Happy Valley,” surprises at every turn. As Helen’s mysterious handler (simply called Reed), Lancashire’s facial expressions seem to embellish just how much Reed likes to make people squirm. Look for her first bitchy onscreen moment during one of her many meetups with Helen.
After stints in “Industry” and “The Crown” (as Andrew Parker Bowels), Andrew Buchan may have mastered the whole British reserve thing. As both Helen’s husband and her mark; for several episodes of the series Buchan’s Wallace has to appear trusting and unconcerned about any snares in his marriage. Maybe it’s good casting (because in ‘Doves’ Buchan very much looks the part of a politician) plus good acting to appear in many scenes with banal dialogue and basic busyness until the time comes to move the plot along. Once that happens Buchanan deftly emotes his character’s strength, honesty and yes, as a politician, shrewdness.
Andrew Koji (“Warrior,” “Peaky Blinders,” “Bullet Train”) is Helen’s ill-fated lover, Jason. It’s the kind of short romantic touchstone role that will create shadows throughout the story. His is a solid performance from an actor that needs to be seen more often.
Omari Douglas is heartbreakingly good as Sam’s ex-partner, who still loves him but finds it incredibly hard to accept Sam’s criminal lifestyle. Ella Lily Hyland and Gabrielle Creevy bring some levity to the series as two smart-talking assassins who find themselves mixed up with Helen and Sam.
As serious as the idea of spies and assassins sounds, creator/writer Joe Barton mixes humor in with the cartoon-like violence. Most times he succeeds, so much so that you’d almost like to have some of whatever he was having while writing the dialogue (almost). In one scene where Sam rushes in to save Helen, he shoots and the perpetrator’s blood splatters all over Helen’s face. Drenched she says, “the f—ng shotgun?” Sam: “Yes, all I had on me.” Helen to Sam regarding her husband: “I actually think you’d quite like him. I mean, apart from the fact that you have absolutely nothing in common. So I don’t know what you’d talk about.”
Other lines try too hard, such as Wallace explaining the scandal created by the ambassador’s murder, “It means Mr. S— and Mrs. Fan have just been formally introduced,” just say the s— has hit the fan. It’s OK.
And yes, there are some plotlines and loopholes that are not even believable in a fictionalized world. But not too many to keep this six-episode mystery/thriller/black comedy from being well-acted and entertaining.
“Black Doves” is now streaming on Netflix.