Close to the Enemy Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Close to the Enemy Blu-ray Movie Review

Too Close for Comfort

Reviewed by Michael Reuben January 23, 2017

Close to the Enemy (or "CttE") is a British TV miniseries set just after World War II, when the loud and bloody battles against Nazi Germany were being replaced by the quieter but potentially even more deadly conflicts of the Cold War. On the surface, it's a story about the Allied effort to recruit German expertise in critical areas of technology and intelligence-gathering, but the series' real subjects are accountability and moral equivocation. As Britain, America and the Soviet Union are transformed from allies into competitors, they become so intent on acquiring key German talent that they're willing to overlook whatever atrocities those particular Germans may have committed. While the trials of Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg riveted the world, a select group of German scientists, engineers and spies were being given a free pass and a new life in a kind of post-war witness protection program.

CttE's writer/director, Stephen Poliakoff, is an experienced TV dramatist, who was allowed complete creative freedom in crafting his multi-layered tale. The series' seven one-hour episodes first aired on BBC Two from November 10 through December 22, 2016. Starz has acquired the U.S. broadcast rights, but the entire series is already available in an excellent Blu-ray presentation from Acorn Media.

It is something of a cliché to describe a specific locale as an additional "character" in a drama, but in the case of CttE, the platitude applies. Much of the series is set in the Connington Hotel, a grandly baroque London structure that has miraculously survived the German blitz, although it is surrounded by piles of rubble that used to be other buildings and the hotel itself is crumbling inside. A secret division of the British military known as "T-Force" has commandeered the hotel for its operations. A portion of the top floor has been converted into a records room for classified files on potential German "assets", and a dedicated staff monitors the listening devices strategically planted in key rooms of the hotel. (The equipment is comically primitive by modern standards, but bugging was such a recent phenomenon that nobody thinks to look for hidden microphones.)

The hotel's latest resident is Dieter Koehler (August Diehl, Salt), a German engineer who specializes in jet propulsion. Armed soldiers kidnapped Dieter from his home and transported him across the Channel with his doleful daughter, Lotte (Lucy Ward), to recruit him for the U.K.'s effort to be the first nation to perfect a working jet engine. Obtaining the resentful Dieter's cooperation is the assignment given to Capt. Callum Ferguson (Jim Sturgess, Across the Universe), a highly decorated member of T-Force whose suavely bland exterior masks a complex and often unpredictable personality. Callum is supposed to be finished with military service, but his no-nonsense superior, Brigadier Wainwright (Robert Glenister, Hustle), makes it clear that a happy future depends on Callum's successful recruitment of Dieter Koehler to the British cause.

As Callum attempts to seduce the recalcitrant scientist with blandishments ranging from specially prepared foods (at a time when much of the British population was still starving due to shortages) to new clothes for Lotte, CttE assembles a diverse assortment of intriguing personalities whose lives intersect the British officer's efforts, often in unexpected ways. Harold Lindsay-Jones (Alfred Molina) is a member of the Foreign Office, who can often be found dining at the Connington in the company of his niece, Lucy (Ciara Charteris), for whom Harold assumed responsibility after his brother's death. From the moment Harold introduces himself to Callum, it is clear that the insinuating diplomat wants something from the reserved captain, but exactly what remains a mystery for a long time. When Harold's agenda is ultimately revealed, it turns out to have both personal and historical significance. CttE doesn't follow the pattern that is now so familiar in American television, where characters masquerade as someone other than who they are, leading to a shocking "reveal". Like everyone else in CttE, Harold Lindsay-Jones is exactly who he says he is—and more.

There is no mystery about the agenda of Kathy Griffiths (Phoebe Fox, Eye in the Sky), a dedicated investigator for a small and underfunded government agency dedicated to prosecuting German war crimes. Kathy wants access to T-Force's voluminous files on German citizens, and when she is rebuffed by Brigadier Wainwright, she turns her attention to Callum, who obstructs her as charmingly as he knows how. Unlike his boss, Callum respects Kathy's dedication, and the pair develop a complex relationship in which conflict alternates with cooperation. Far less complex is Callum's connection to Julia (Charity Wakefield), an actress who is staying at the hotel while she attempts to jumpstart a career. Like many attractive Englishwomen of her era, Julia has developed a certain moral flexibility when it comes to favors from men (see, generally, The Americanization of Emily), and she and Callum recognize each other as kindred spirits of pragmatism.

A more exotic woman enters Callum's life with the arrival of Rachel Lombard (Charlotte Riley, Edge of Tomorrow), the new American bride of the captain's university chum, Alex Lombard (Sebastian Armesto). A wealthy widow from her first marriage, Rachel met Alex when he was posted to the British embassy in Washington, where he spent the war years far away from both battles and bombs (an indulgence for which he seems perpetually embarrassed). At her husband's urging, Rachel enlists Callum's aid in helping her launch herself into what remains of London society, and the smoldering glances between the beautiful bride and the handsome soldier portend trouble for both.

A catalyst for many of CttE's plot turns is Callum's younger brother, Victor (Freddie Highmore, Bates Motel). A combat veteran like his brother, Victor appears to be suffering from what would now be called PTSD, but as the series progresses, it becomes clear that there was already something odd about him long before the war. Awkward and unkempt where Callum is urbane and elegant, brusque and direct where Callum is diplomatic and reserved, Victor initially appears to be his brother's opposite, although he insists that they are really very much alike. Over time, those similarities emerge in unpredictable ways and at unexpected moments.

Hovering on the story's fringes is Eva (Angela Bassett), an African-American singer, piano player and band leader who has landed a gig in the Art Deco nightclub in the hotel's basement ballroom. Besides providing entertaining musical interludes, Eva serves as CttE's resident outsider, whose detachment gives her a unique perspective on the webs of intrigue winding through the performing space she currently calls home. Although Eva is stingy with details about her life before the arrived at the Connington, one gets the sense that she was too smart, too independent and too outspoken to fit into any of the roles typically available to a black woman in 1940s America.

A late arrival to the series is Frau Bellinghausen (Lindsay Duncan), an Englishwoman by birth who married a wealthy German industrialist and spent the war on the continent. She is now the sole holder of a secret formula eagerly sought by the British perfume industry, which she intends to exchange for readmittance to her native land. An imperious recluse, Frau Bellinghausen will prove to be an even greater challenge to Callum's enticements than Dieter, the German engineer.

Intrigue and espionage inform the plot of CttE, but these are secondary elements to the exploration of character and the evocation of an era in which Britain had emerged from war as a victor but had suffered such devastation that the experience felt more like losing. (The final seasons of Foyle's War dealt with the same issue.) The circumstances give rise to a powerful urge to assign blame and to punish those deemed responsible for such loss and destruction, but they also generate a countervailing pressure: an urge to move forward, rebuild and forget the past. The characters of CttE exist at the intersection of these two opposing forces, and each has to find his or her place in a society that is being rebuilt, in the most literal sense, from the ground up.

Close to the Enemy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Close to the Enemy was shot digitally (probably on Alexa) by Ashley Rowe (Alfie). Acorn Media has distributed the seven one-hour episodes over three 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray discs featuring an image of superb depth and detail. Rowe's camera captured the tiniest minutia of the series' elaborate production design, ranging from the piles of individual bricks outside the hotel to the bright decor of Eva's club to the dusty files and antique electronics of the T-Force office on the hotel's top floor. While CttE has its share of wanly colored post-war scenery, Rowe and Poliakoff seem to have gone out of their way to find outdoor locations and create indoor sets with rich hues that the Blu-ray showcases in beautifully saturated, crystal-clear images. Even when the series ventures beyond the Connington, it favors stately and elegant locales like the Lombards' new home, the residence of Harold Lindsay-Jones and various clubs and dining facilities that have managed to keep up appearances. The Blu-ray image features deep blacks, excellent contrast and a complete absence of noise or interference. Average bitrates for the seven episodes hover at around 28 Mbps.

Close to the Enemy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Although Close to the Enemy has a 5.1 soundtrack (encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA), the series is dialogue-driven, with the surrounds used to supply environmental ambiance as the scene shifts throughout the Connington Hotel and various areas in and around London. The dialogue is clearly rendered and appropriately localized. The series was scored by Adrian Johnston, who previously worked with Poliakoff on the series Dancing on the Edge. Johnston also composed all of the songs performed by Eva and her band.

Close to the Enemy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Except for introductory trailers on disc 1, all of the extras can be found on disc 3. In a peculiar choice, the video extras have been letterboxed at approximately 2.35:1, although CttE itself is presented at 1.78:1. The wider aspect ratio seems to be gaining in popularity on British TV, but I have been unable to determine whether CttE was initially shown this way. Unlike Acorn Media's The Last Panthers, which was very obviously cropped at the sides, CttE's compositions on Blu-ray do not appear to be cramped or altered. If any reader is familiar with how the series was originally broadcast, please let me know.

• Behind the Scenes (1080p; 2.35:1; 29:40): A "play all" function is included.
• A Conversation with Stephen Poliakoff
• Meet the Enemy
• Recreating the World
• The Hotel Guests
• Music & Dance



• Cast Interviews (1080p; 2.35:1; 27:54): A "play all" function is included.
• Aleksandar Jovanovic
• Angela Basset
• August Diehl
• Charity Wakefield
• Charlotte Riley
• Freddie Highmore
• Jim Sturgess
• Lindsay Duncan
• Phoebe Fox
• Sebastian Armesto



• Photo Gallery (1080p; various; 1:21): Assorted publicity stills.



• Introductory Trailers: At startup, disc 1 plays trailers for Acorn TV, Restless and Foyle's War, Set 8.



• Booklet: A four-page printed insert contains additional comments by writer/director Stephen Poliakoff.

Close to the Enemy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Like much of Poliakoff's work, CttE moves at a leisurely pace, as the writer/director lets his characters gradually reveal themselves through actions and interactions. But the series rewards the viewer's attention with an elaborately imagined and fully realized evocation of an intriguing historical moment, when values that had seemed clear only yesterday suddenly grew clouded. Poliakoff's characters are layered, complex individuals, whose choices often surprise even themselves. Acorn Media's Blu-ray set is expertly produced and highly recommended.