For
many of Britain’s Greatest Generation, it was hard to believe how quickly
things changed after the war, like the towering Winston Churchill getting
turned out of office. That was obviously a mistake they rectified in 1951. For
partially PSTD-rattled Victor Ferguson, making nice with “useful” National
Socialist scientists is also a mistake. His older brother, Capt. Callum
Ferguson might just agree with him, but his latest and most likely last
assignment involves winning over a reluctant German aeronautical engineer. At
least he will have agreeable digs for the gig. Ferguson and his charge will be “safely”
ensconced within London’s only functioning luxury hotel in Close to the Enemy (trailer here), a seven-part British limited series, which
releases today on DVD, from Acorn Media.
Victor
Ferguson survived Monte Cassino, but he has been acting erratically and
anti-socially ever since his discharge. Capt. Ferguson landed at Normandy.
Outwardly, he is cool and confident, but we are given reason to believe his
psyche is deeply troubled. Babysitting Dieter Koehler was not his idea, but if
he can convince the German to help his new British patrons break the Sound Barrier
first, he will be in a highly advantageous position to restart his engineering
career. There are also fringe benefits to being stationed in the Connington
Hotel. The food is decent and the aspiring actress-working girl staying in the
next-door room is certainly friendly. Plus, an expat American jazz diva leads a
legit swing band in the basement club, which is of particular interest to a
frustrated composer like Ferguson.
Ferguson
will steadily gain Koehler’s trust, initially through pleasing his little girl
Lotte. Unfortunately, he is frequently called away to tend to brother Victor’s dramas.
For reasons we never really understand, Ferguson also commences an affair with
his best friend’s rich American fiancée, Rachel Lombard. More interestingly,
the Captain develops a highly complicated working relationship with Kathy
Griffiths, an investigator in the British war crimes office. Of course, she is
trying to prosecute exactly the sort of people who have been stashed away at
the Connington. Yes, much to Ferguson’s own surprise, it turns out there is
another old National Socialist a rival agency is keeping on ice in the hotel.
Enemy is stuffed with
characters and subplots, which espionage genre fans generally appreciate. In
this case, it means the lists of what works and what flops are both long and
detailed. The basics are pretty strong, starting with the Connington setting.
Generally speaking, it is good fun to watch Ferguson skulking around mothballed
building. It is sort of like Grand Hotel or
Arthur Hailey’s Hotel, but with guns
and war criminals. To give credit where it is due, Jim Sturgess, who can be pretty
hit-or-miss is really terrific as Capt. Ferguson, nicely handling both his flip
façade and slow-burning angst. However, his relationship with Charlotte Riley’s
Lombard is never the slightest bit believable, especially when Charity
Wakefield seems like so much more fun, as the slightly scandalous Julia.
Regardless,
Capt. Ferguson is all business with Griffiths, but their scenes crackle with
energy, thanks to the first-rate platonic love-hate chemistry Sturgess and
Phoebe Fox share together. Speaking of fun, Angela Bassett is clearly having a
blast playing the Billie Holiday-Josephine Baker composite. Then there’s
Freddie Highmore as Victor Ferguson—and there’s just so blasted much of him.
His petulantly boyish screen presence is so annoying, Martin Scorsese will
probably make him the lead of his next six films if DiCaprio suddenly goes
through puberty. Whenever Victor lurches onto the scene, everything comes to a
screeching halt, even when the crafty old vet Alfred Molina tries to cover for
him as Harold Lindsay-Jones, a retired Foreign Office official, who takes an
interest in the Brothers Ferguson.
