Brotherhood. Fraternity. Friendship. These are words – and concepts – that don’t usually pop into our heads when we think about spy movies or TV shows. Indeed, the words that normally cross our minds are quite the opposite, since spy dramas customarily rely on things like distrust and subterfuge to swell the suspense. This is what makes the real-life relationship of MI6 officers Nicholas Elliott and Kim Philby so perfect for dramatization: it features all of the above. However, their story also poses a sizeable challenge to anyone who attempts said dramatization, as they’ll need to figure out how best to balance this chronicle of camaraderie and duplicity. That’s exactly what screenwriter Alexander Cary and director Nick Murphy decided to do. The end result is their inconsistent but emotive six-episode miniseries, A Spy Among Friends.

Based on Ben Macintyre’s history of the same name, A Spy Among Friends stars Damian Lewis as Elliott and Guy Pearce as Philby.* Primarily set in 1963, the story begins after Philby has fled to Russia, having already been outed as a Soviet double agent. His treachery has blemished MI6 (referred to as SIS) and put Elliott, Philby’s best friend of over 20 years, in the firing line. Now under the watchful gaze of MI5, Elliott resolves to uncover the identities of other Soviet spies in British intelligence, while also coming to terms with the greatest betrayal a man like him can ever endure.

For me and I expect many others, the two stars might be reason enough to watch A Spy Among Friends. Lewis and Pearce are as skilled as leading men get on the small screen, and they’re both phenomenal in this miniseries. Of the two, Lewis gets the edge in terms of screen time, which is great because he’s practically perfect. Playing Elliott like a character pulled straight from a le Carré novel, Lewis flawlessly fluctuates between playing a man reeling from deep emotional pain and one who maintains an elusive, carefree guise while going about his work.** This character/performance is unmissable, but then again, so is Pearce’s. His Philby is often as charismatic and mysterious as Lewis’ Elliott, which is no small feat. In many ways, more is asked of Pearce than of any other actor in the show, as it falls to him to humanize a man who so grievously harmed his friends, colleagues, and country. Pearce is as good as he’s ever been, and together with Lewis, they truly make A Spy Among Friends worth watching despite its flaws.

To be fair, this series actually has three protagonists, with Anna Maxwell Martin achieving parity in terms of screen time, at least to Pearce. Martin plays Lily Thomas, the MI5 officer assigned to monitor and question Elliott in order to determine if he can be trusted, and it’s via this responsibility that she becomes a major player in the narrative. Thomas takes a while to get used to, since she’s often quite cold and direct, which is an appropriate personality for a woman in her position circa 1960. It’s not easy for her to be taken seriously in a world dominated by men who manipulate and deceive for a living, and who push people around like they’re pawns on a chess board. Yet, Thomas is up to the task, and that, combined with Martin’s measured performance, is what makes her work. Other than being a bit too austere on occasion, my only complaint about Thomas is that some of the feminism in her storyline is too on the nose. I don’t mind being reminded that she’s a woman probing around in a boy’s club (and world), but I always prefer show over tell, and they never really show her facing down sexism, vintage 1963. That’s certainly a missed opportunity, but it’s also not that big of a deal.

It’s through Thomas that writer Alexander Cary’s skill becomes apparent, as she serves as an interesting foil to Elliott while also acting as a proxy for the audience. She’s as unfamiliar with the game the men of MI6 play as we viewers are, meaning that when she’s confused, we’re confused, or when she’s appalled, we’re appalled. This is really savvy writing, since it allows Cary to present huge swathes of information in an organic way, by having Elliott recite them to Thomas rather than to a colleague who already knows half the story. It also helps to have Thomas there because she offers a different perspective, one that’s feminine but also detached. It’s the detached aspect that most intrigued me, especially when I realized that in some ways she personifies the point of view of both Macintyre and Cary. Through her, their theses about the Philby affair become insightful, poignant dialogue. This is all really shrewd stuff.***

Nonetheless, Thomas’ role in the story is more utilitarian than anything else. Ultimately, A Spy Among Friends revolves around Elliott and Philby, showcasing how their affinity for one another complicates their work relationship as spies. You see, spies can’t exactly go home to their wives and talk about their day. Instead, the only people they can confide in is each other; spy-craft is a lonely trade. This series deftly portrays that time and again, thusly illuminating why Philby’s double-dealing so deeply hurt those closest to him. This theme of brotherhood/fraternity completely caught me off-guard; I expected it to be an element, but not a primary focus. And I have to say, I really enjoyed it. As a man, I know how special brotherhood can be, and for this reason, I found A Spy Among Friends highly affecting. Lewis and Pearce really sell their friendship too, further adding to the resonance of the story.****

Being clever and surprising obviously helps A Spy Among Friends, but not all of its storytelling is of that quality. For instance, there’s a frustrating subplot involving James Jesus Angleton (Stephen Kunken), a CIA officer who’s a close friend of both Elliott and Philby. Kunken imbues his character with an icy edge, but even so, Angleton often feels superfluous. I understood his purpose in the story by the show’s end, but that didn’t change the fact that earlier on, in the moment, I didn’t care for the character. In addition, there’s an attempt to keep Philby (and Pearce) relevant to the story as he adjusts to living in Moscow. For every one of these scenes that feels interesting and vital, there are two that don’t. Again, I understood why these scenes were included, but I still think there were too many of them. Overall, Philby is at his most engaging during the flashback sequences.

Speaking of flashbacks, they’re the lifeblood of this series, often to its detriment. Given that the cat’s already out of the bag in regard to Philby, it makes sense to include a good deal of scenes set in the past. That said, A Spy Among Friends often utilizes flashbacks within flashbacks, which is quite jarring. The first few episodes are especially guilty of this, which is directly attributable to the need to cover a lot of ground and develop characters with haste. All in all, the editing in the first two to three episodes was not to my liking, and I can’t imagine many people disagreeing with me. I suspect, though, that when I re-watch this miniseries, I might be more forgiving of those episodes. After all, I now have the context that elucidates some of those earlier moments that I wasn’t fond of and that were further damaged by the rapidity of the editing. All of this is to say, viewers will need to be patient; this series gets progressively better as it goes on.

In the end, whether or not you’ll enjoy A Spy Among Friends hinges on your appreciation of top-tier acting and slow-burn storytelling. Lewis and Pearce’s masterful performances might be reason enough to tune in, but I couldn’t blame anyone who wants more action, suspense, and better pacing. Heck, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t occasionally want those things when I was working through this. If you’re still on the fence, then here’s how I’d put it: A Spy Among Friends is like a John le Carré novel but with the limited excitement of real life. It’s not a thriller; it’s a drama. It’s a study on the trust formed between men whose very profession requires them to mislead and manipulate. And it’s a tale about brotherhood, of which the bonds die hard.

If I had to score it, I’d give A Spy Among Friends a 7/10.

Notes:

* This is the second show based on a work by author Ben Macintyre to come out on MGM+ (formerly known as Epix), the other being 2022’s WW2-set series, Rogue Heroes. For more on that series, click here for our review.

** A Spy Among Friends settles it: Damian Lewis should’ve been Bond. As praised as Craig was, Lewis would’ve been better. I make no apologies for saying so. Also, if anyone ever adapts a le Carré/George Smiley novel, they need to call Lewis. The man was born to play a spy.

*** (Minor Spoiler) I haven’t read Macintyre’s book, so I can’t say if it’s his conclusion or Cary’s, but I love how Thomas surmises that the men of SIS aren’t angry with Philby because he passed on intel to the Soviets. Rather, they’re angry because he subjected their club, and the game it played, to “the scrutiny of the peasants.” In other words, it’s not that Philby was a traitor that galled them; it’s that he got caught. That’s a sobering deduction about people with such power, and one that continues to hold true to this day.

**** The idea that spies, who are for all intents and purposes professional liars, can grow to implicitly trust one another is a really intriguing paradox, and one that I’m happy Cary and Murphy mined for all it’s worth. 

***** It may have been only one scene, but it was awesome to see Damian Lewis and Rick Warden share the screen again. If you’re a huge fan of Band of Brothers, then like me you might shout, “Holy crap, that’s Winters and Welsh!” I was smiling from ear to ear.