britts-707-666081 ***may contain spoilers for some sensitive folks*** RESTLESS, the television adaptation of William Boyd's novel of the same name, was shown on UK BBC One and US Sundance Channel television in two parts in December 2012. The teleplay was nominated for two Primetime Emmy awards the following spring. Part one, the story of Eva's early life as a spy in the days leading to World War II, is beautifully filmed on spectacular locations in Europe. The cars used in the production are European vintage in beautiful condition. The costumes are interesting and appear authentic. The cast is superlative: Sally Gilmartin...Charlotte Rampling ("Swimming Pool") Eva Delectorskaya...Hayley Atwell ("Any Human Heart") Ruth Gilmartin....Michelle Dockery ("Downton Abbey") Lucas Romer....Rufus Sewell ("Zen")(Part 1)....Michael Gambon ("Dancing at Lughnasa")(Part 2)The story begins in 1976 in a remote part of England when Ruth (a long red-haired hippie working on her doctorate) and her son visit her mother Sally Gilmartin. Ruth finds her mother in great fear thinking someone is in the woods behind the house trying to kill her. Sally has purchased a rifle, binoculars, and a telescope. She tells her daughter she was a Russian girl named Eva that was a spy for the British in a clandestine group that offered refuge for German informants and recruited Roosevelt's help for British causes in WW II. Sally implores Ruth to find and visit Lucas Romer, the only one she trusts in the group, to stop the present-day killers; she gives her daughter her journal of her days as a spy.Eva's journal begins in 1939 German-occupied France when she is recruited by spy-master Lucas Romer after her brother is killed by Nazis. She is trained at a safe house in a remote part of England. The film emphasizes that Eva receives no weapons training, so it is clearer that she is training to be a seductress. (At least, clearer to me in the teleplay than in the novel.)The restaurant scene, one of Eva's first capers, takes place in Amsterdam when she and Romer, but primarily Eva, are to rescue a Dutch informant. The man gives Eva the wrong "double password" and Eva escapes through a bathroom window and witnesses the informant's death by several Nazi diners. The scene is vivid and well done...and shows Romer's early dominance over Eva's activities. (He's across the street in a hotel with a pair of binoculars!)Romer, played by a handsome Rufus Sewell with a thin mustache, is not nicer than in the book...still an arrogant, rude man! He stays in the shadows at Eva's brother's funeral and during her spy training. The several times they meet, he is discourteous and does not treat her as a lady (although one of her fake passports is for a Baroness). Both Eva and Romer smoke continuously. Other men light her cigarettes...just not Romer. There is a strange scene where one of the group, an older man, calls Eva to witness a murder posed as a suicide at a crime scene before the police are summoned. Eva recognizes the victim as one of the directors of the group.One can still wonder in the film, as in the book, why Eva and Romer became lovers. It happens suddenly with a kiss and then a seduction in a hotel room. If I recall, it's right after the restaurant caper. (As someone mentioned in my book club discussion...love happens fast in tense times.) Although RESTLESS is an adult drama, there is no profanity nor any bodily function or display in bad taste. Romer's sexual practice (coitus interruptus) is hinted at in the hotel room scene...but you would miss it if you have not read the novel.The first part ends when Eva is assigned to go to Washington, D. C. to persuade America to come to Britain's aid in its war with Germany. Her specific assignment is to seduce the aide of Roosevelt's personal assistant Harry Hopkins. Previews of the conclusion show her as a blowzy blonde.....Stay tuned...

iain-218 This was poor and left me grieving for BBC Drama - who is going to make quality television if the BBC can't? It had a lot of the right ingredients - if they were re-making The Singing Detective, then Rufus Sewell would be a perfect choice, so it was only right that Michael Gambon played Sewell's older self. But the pace was slow, the plot became nonsense (was it perhaps originally a six part that was then cut down?), and the dialogue was awful. They left the worst til last though, the ending was truly dire leaving me regretting that I had spent 3 hours getting there - God knows how the actors and crew felt when they saw it, after all it took them a lot longer.Why is this 4 and not 1, because I like the genre.

dalydj-918-255175 EPISODE #1:Another British spy drama starring some legendary British actors but also some newcomers to acting also from Britian. Set in the 70's the story is about Ruth Gilmartin (Michelle Dockery) who along with her son goes to meet her mother Sally Gilmartin (Charlotte Rampling). On this visit she finds out the truth that Sally's real name is Eva Delectorskaya (Hayley Atwell) and she was a spy for the British during the times of world war II. We then get flashbacks to the 30's-40's seeing the training Eva went through to become a spy because her brother was killed. While going through the training she meets Lucas Romer (Rufus Sewell) who becomes her closest Allie while being a spy. After one mission goes wrong and a dutch spy gets killed the thriller aspect of the story kicks into full gear. While we see these flashbacks going on back in present time Ruth still in shock now about the truth of her mother she agrees to help her mother stay safe while trying to get help from past friends of her mother. At the end of the first part of the miniseries we get our first look at the older Lucas Romer (Michael Gambon) as Ruth try's to get help from him for her mother. An impressive cast lead this story. The film is like a typical British spy thriller based in the past but the two connected times lines in something different for a change. The best performances in this first part came from Hayley Atwell and Charlotte Rampling who play the same character but in different points of the character's life. We were left with a cliff hanger with the reveal of Lucas Romer who is needed to keep Sally/Eva alive. Every detail in the clothes, sets and direction was spot in for the period that each part of the story was filmed. An impressive first part can only lead to a great conclusion in part two.EPISODE GRADE: B+ (MVP: Hayley Atwell)EPISODE #2:Part 2 and the final part of the miniseries. Still split between the two time periods we find out more about Eva's days in the states as a spy. In present times Ruth sits down to interview Lucas, when she asks some of her questions he becomes suspicious and ends the interview after asking more questions then she got to ask him. In the past we see Eva was made sleep with someone on a mission and she successfully did it but did not feel good about selling herself to him. Eva's other mission in the states involved her going to Albuquerque, New Mexico to get a package along with the $5,000 she was given to hand off to someone. She gets the package and looks at it to find some mistakes on the package. When she gives some of the money she returns back to her motel room only to have a gun held to her. The gun man takes the money off her but also makes her take her clothes off before leaving. She then drives them and once they stop she takes her chance to get free by stabbing him in the eye. She then covers her footsteps by making it took like a car crash. Eva believes she was sold but when she meets with Lucas he tells her she did better then anyone could have expected. Eva still worried she was set up now has the idea she made a mistake after Morris tells her she might have, however when Eva goes for a meeting with Morris she finds out the news that he committed suicide. This makes Eva come up with a plan to escape to Canada so she asks Sylvia to come with her. When they get to the border Eva escapes but Slyvia staying behind is killed. Once Eva gets to Canada she hears USA is know in the war also she has met her future husband. Eva escapes to London with her new husband. She meets Alfie in London finding out Angus was killed as well. During the London bombings Eva kills Alfie and also has to run from Lucas scared he might kill her. This ends the past and we return to modern times where Ruth is starting to worry about what her mother has been doing lately. At the end of the episode Eva finally confronts Lucas once again. She reveals that she now knows that Lucas was the spy of all spies. She does not kill him but once she leaves her injects himself to kill himself. Eva still questions revealing Ruth was her daughter but Ruth tells her not to worry. Once again the performances by Charlotte Ramplinbg and Hayley Atwell were very strong. Michael Gambon and Michelle Dockery were also great. The production value was also as strong and the thriller aspect to this part was even more thrilling then the first part. This was a great miniseries overall.EPISODE GRADE: B+ (MVP: Charlotte Rampling)

Tweekums When Ruth Gilmartin goes to visit her mother Sally she is surprised to find her acting somewhat paranoid; convinced that there are people in the woods who are watching her and intending to kill her. Sally has a bigger surprise for her daughter; she isn't really Sally Gilmartin; her name is Eva Delectorskaya. She was a Russian émigré living in France when she was recruited to British Intelligence by a man called Lucas Romer. We see the younger Eva working for him, helping plant false news stories that are intended to help the war effort. The most important of her missions takes her to the United States; here they are trying to sway opinion so that neutral America will join the war against Germany. Things don't go according to plan and Eva becomes convinced that one of the group must have betrayed them! As she learns more about her mother's past Ruth helps her track down Lucas Romer but if her mother is right they are both in more danger than ever.This two part thriller nicely balanced the events that took place during the war and those that were taking place thirty years later. Michelle Dockery and Charlotte Rampling did fine jobs as Ruth and Sally Gilmartin but it was Hayley Atwell who stole the show as the younger Sally, aka Eva. Even though we knew her character had to survive the war her scenes managed to be tense; especially those in the United States. For the most part the tension was maintained by the threat of violence but occasionally the threat became a reality. Much of the violence was fairly tame but there is a scene where somebody gets stabbed in the eye which is surprisingly graphic. I suspect most viewers will guess who the traitor was although when it is revealed the motives are not those that I'd expected… I won't say more to avoid spoiling the ending too much!