Liaison Episode 1 Review: A Thriller That is as Timely as Ever on Apple Tv+
Cast: Eva Green, Vincent Cassel, Daniel Francis
Director: Stephen Hopkins
Streaming Platform: Apple Tv+
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3/5 (three stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
A co-production between the United Kingdom and France, the six-part thriller series Liaison explores the dangers of cyber-terrorism, recounting the battle of government agents and spies who face all too hidden threats on the ground. Written by Virginie Brac and directed entirely by former action-thriller specialist Stephen Hopkins – who remembers his past big-screen hits Predator 2 and Blown Away? – the show has an outstanding cast that includes Vincent Cassel, Eva Green, Peter Mullan, Gérard Lanvin, and the always-loved Irène Jacob, the unforgettable protagonist of the double life of Veronica and Three Colors: Red Film for Krzysztof Kieslowski.
However, as the synopsis published by the streaming platform states, the goal of the six episodes is above all to explore “the devastating impact of past mistakes on the future”, bringing together espionage and political intrigue with “a long and passionate story of Love”. A very ambitious project, but not without gray areas: here is our review of Liaison. Let’s start immediately by declaring that, if you are minimally expert in the genre that Liaison offers to the Apple TV+ audience then this is not the product for you
Liaison Episode 1 Review: The Story Plot
The young Syrian hackers Samir and Walid hack government servers in Damascus and end up in the crosshairs of the regime because of a secret that should have remained hidden. The ambitious and unscrupulous head of the French security service Didier Taraud, determined to prove his prowess to the president, uses his underground channels to offer them political asylum in Paris in exchange for information and entrusts the mercenary Gabriel Delange with the mission. However, something goes wrong, and Gabriel is forced to follow their trail to London, in a race against time to prevent the secret from falling into the hands of the British. Meanwhile, the British secret services are being put to the test by cyberterrorism: someone has managed to break into the national security system and is unleashing a series of attacks against the capital.
A mysterious hand deactivates the flood barriers of Tower Bridge, sabotages the underground channels, and leaves the whole of London without light: the signs are increasingly worrying, and an even worse threat seems to be about to hit the city. For some years Great Britain has no longer been part of the European Union, and after a long negotiation the common computer system also failed: now London is truly alone in the face of danger, and must enter into a new treaty with Brussels as soon as possible if he wants to overcome the crisis. Meanwhile, to complete his mission and recover information about the attack, Gabriel is forced to turn to his ex, Allison, who works for the British secret services. In the past the two were lovers, but the woman has now broken off all relations and is on the verge of marrying Albert, a lawyer, and civil rights activist. Only by joining forces will Gabriel and Allison be able to try to save their nations…
Liaison Episode 1 Review and Analysis
Over the course of its six episodes, Liaison takes a lucid look at current events, playing both literally and metaphorically: just as Allison and Gabriel have drifted apart and are now on opposite sides of the Channel, the United Kingdom to has drastically severed its ties with Europe. Both sides have emerged vulnerable and weakened and are now on their knees before the long shadow of a new form of terrorism. The threat is no longer represented by explosives and suicide bombings, but by the hand of mysterious faceless hackers, capable of violating British computer systems and throwing the entire city of London into chaos. Over everything, significantly, hovers a direction that seems to tell the story through the electronic eye of a security camera or other recording device.
The problem – as a character affirms during the third episode is that “the European Union is certainly not a self-service“: restoring a common computer security network is certainly not an immediate process, and between France and the United Kingdom it now seems all trust has been lost. At times, the series even seems to outline some Cold War dynamics, between forced extraditions, secrets, and threats: at the moment it is science fiction, but who can say that this is not the future of politics on the shores of the Channel? What if “the devastating impact of past mistakes on the future” mentioned in the synopsis was precisely that of Brexit? The events of Allison and Gabriel’s romantic Liaison, however authentic and genuine, thus end up also becoming an emblem of a much wider problem, also reflected in the linguistic dualism between English and French that permeates the entire series.
There is nothing to do: if you are looking for an excellent, exciting, and breathtaking spy series on Apple Plus, you have to keep referring to the excellent Slow Horses (here is our review), since Liaison is not able at all to bear comparison with the adventures of Jackson Lamb and associates. It’s a real shame, since the assumption we told you about a moment ago is decidedly fascinating, and the adventure spans between Damascus, Paris, London, and Brussels. What betrays expectations, however, is above all the screenplay by Virginie Brac, which continually relies on many clichés, forcing, and illogical passages: her writing, decidedly not very incisive, flattens the events and makes the secondary characters too two-dimensional.
The rhythms are the fast and intense ones of a thriller, and certainly not the staid ones of a spy story like Homeland and The Americans. Nonetheless, the show fails even to fully convey the sense of threat and mystery that it would like to communicate, nor to make the political entanglements between London, Paris, and Brussels interesting. There are twists and turns, the facts unfold with the right gradualness, and the backstory of the two protagonists is expertly dosed from episode to episode, but that spark of originality is capable of animating the narration and connoting it in a unique way compared to the other titles of the type. It is no coincidence that the most successful storyline is the one dedicated to the story of the relationship between Gabriel and Allison, which remains shrouded in mystery until the last few episodes: paradoxically, to the detriment of the tone adopted by the director, Liaison works much better as a love story than as a thriller!
However, it is forbidden to talk about a flop or a missed opportunity: Liaison still manages to offer us pleasant entertainment thanks above all to the contribution of a stainless Vincent Cassel, who once again finds himself giving life to a cynical, charming and sensitive scoundrel, bridging with his natural charisma and formidable stage presence are the flaws of a screenplay that is not always up to par. In the role of the French contractor Gabriel Delange, Cassel dominates the entire series and magnetizes our attention, immediately making us understand without any shadow of a doubt how that handyman mercenary is the character we must identify with.
On balance, the plot of Liaison ends up being much more compelling and memorable than the mere sum of his jokes and his directorial choices deserve thanks to the majestic performance of the French star, who in this case supports the weight of the entire show. Eva Green’s performance is also good, but she is decidedly less incisive than her male counterpart: her expressiveness is as always intense and impeccable, but these abilities are decidedly underutilized by the narration, which ends up limiting the enormous potential of the interpreter a lot by Allison.
Why then do we still advise you to give Liaison a chance and maybe see it all in one go? The reason is simple, she has a name and a surname: Vincent Cassel. If, like the writer, you appreciate this actor with his perennial aura of a scoundrel who knows how to make himself loved, if you can’t escape his electric and ambiguous charm, well Liaison will only confirm all this. Cassel holds Liaison up with his unique stage presence, making his mercenary with a beating heart vulnerable and fallible. More than the thriller part, the series works when it explores the rooms of romantic melodrama, with an actor who manages to convey all the pain of the character to us even through a glance or a silence. The love subplot that sees co-protagonist Eva Green (unfortunately not as effective) is Liaison‘s most successful factor and manages to save a product otherwise devoid at least partially of appeal. Apart, as it is worth reiterating, is her magnetic protagonist.
Liaison Episode 1 Review: The Last Words
Cassel holds Liaison up with his unique stage presence, making his mercenary with a beating heart vulnerable and fallible. Thanks to the natural charisma of Vincent Cassel and a very compelling narrative premise, Liaison takes a lucid look at current events and explores the long-term consequences of Brexit. Unfortunately, the script does not adequately support the story, which is still enjoyable.
