Reviews

          Released at the tail end of 2022, A Spy Among Friends follows the true story of British special intelligence officer Harold Adrian Russell “Kim” Philby, who was discovered in 1963 to have been a double agent for the KGB for nearly 30 years — and the impact that this discovery had on his closest relationships. The six-part drama is based on the book by Ben Macintyre of the same name. 
          When adapting around true events, there is a strong temptation to focus the narrative around what did — or didn't, as may be more apt in the world of half-truths and espionage — happen. The MGM+ original series, luckily, does not give in to that temptation. Instead, writer Alexander Cary elects to keep the story centred within a set of key relationships, ones which have been broken apart from the very core by the reveal of Philby’s true loyalties. Not only does this mode of storytelling bring the facts, figures, and locations which naturally come with such a complex story as this to life, it also allows the viewer the opportunity to step into the emotions of the people who lived and worked over half a century ago.
          The series primarily follows Nicholas Elliot, played by Damian Lewis, Philby’s closest friend and fellow intelligence officer. However, the key uncredited figure in this post-war drama is something even more tangible. Grief. When we meet Kim Philby, he has defected to Russia and is still living. And yet there is a distinct delineation throughout the series between himself and those he “left behind".
          As a result, Elliot and American CIA agent James Jesus Angleton (Stephen Kunken) — two of Philby’s closest friends and, as they believed, confidants — are presented as they muddle through the loss of the man they thought they knew. In a brilliant, heartbreaking portrayal of a man in grief, Elliot hoards up the information he never know about his friend, storing it away like a box of old polaroids. As a man in grief, he defends his friend's skill and triumphs, even in the face of Philby’s undeniable betrayal to those people they had sworn to protect. And as a man in grief, he desperately attempts to stem the paranoia, fear, and mistrust which his friend’s departure has occasioned. Damian Lewis' performance subtly suggests, within Elliot's buttoned-up British politeness, that he may never be able to fully lay to rest the man whom he believed Kim to be, even as he is left to a life of obscurity and suspicion in an unfamiliar country.
          We can see this cleverly portrayed as Philby navigates the new life before him in communist USSR, where he appears to us like a ghost. He has, by deciding to run, been stripped of everything that had given him life up to that point. Love, devotion, and the belief of others in himself were the driving forces behind his will to live, to strive, to carry on. And though he has been credited with a "lucky escape", we soon realise that it will in fact be the death of him — if it hasn’t been already. The cinematography of Nanu Segal works towards showing this in flawless fashion. Through expert colour grading, a wan, tepid Moscow is presented as Philby's new home and contrasted with a post-war Britain which was certainly not bursting with colour, either. Nevertheless, the two locations feel distinct, as do the warm-toned flashbacks which show the “eligible and witty” version of Kim Philby which was presented to his friends and colleagues and which garnered him such loyalty for so long, even in the face of great suspicion.
          In brilliant contrast, the character of Lily Thomas, assigned by MI5 to investigate Philby’s defection, is artfully woven into the narrative in spite of the fact that she never actually existed. Her working-class background is used as a foil to show how the Secret Intelligence Service to which Elliot and Philby belong is formed around upper-class individuals. A ‘ruling’ class which Philby describes as “built on an ingrained belief that victory over one’s enemy is preordained, God-given”. Her practicality and compassion are used to show that, while not every member of the SIS was a spy, there was perhaps a certain lack of self-reflection in that sector which allowed for the existence of men like Philby to thrive within it for so long.
          Thomas isn’t just used as a contradictory figure to Elliot, however. Her quirks and home life offer a sense of colour and individuality beyond the facts of her gender and background. She is keen, intelligent, and has an innate belief in doing right by her country without falling into the trap of believing that it can do no wrong.
          In addition to the carefully crafted plot and contrasting characters, the practical elements of A Spy Among Friends are incredibly effective. The intentional and immersive production design uses everything from Blitz-era anti-aircraft blimps in the sky to period-appropriate Underground stations to create a world in which these characters can live, act, and feel without the distance modern viewers can often feel from historical periods.
          The makeup applied to Elliot, Philby, and their friend Flora Solomon — all of whom we see over a period of years — is continuous and convincing in showing subtly how time has affected each one. It is easy to forget, due to the makeup and carefully blurred flashback filters, that the actors are not exactly the age they appear at any given moment.
          While the double-takes and u-turns of this spy story can be confusing or even a little disorienting at times, the fact that the true heroes of the story are the people and the relationships between them — rather than factual information — rescues it from the dense, narrative quagmire which hinders many mid-century spy stories. Philby and Elliot; Elliot and Mrs Thomas; Jim Angleton and Philby. The love, pain, camaraderie, fear, distrust, and grief within each of these relationships shown in the midst of complete upheaval, both personally and nationally, is what truly sets this series apart.