Black Doves review: Brilliant spies, bland conspiracy in Keira Knightley thriller

This festive-tinged spy thriller is another strong effort from the writer-director, enlisting the talents of Keira Knightley, Ben Whishaw and Sarah Lancashire as three operatives of a shady organisation tangled in a web of conspiracy.

The starry trio are fantastic in these exciting and, arguably, trailblazing roles, but alas, the plot they are tasked with unravelling feels rather paint-by-numbers in comparison.

The story kicks off with an engrossing sequence in which three individuals are picked off in a targeted assassination, having become privy to dangerous information that we can only speculate on at this time.

One of the victims is the secret lover of Black Doves agent Helen (Knightley), who is married to a senior figure in the British government and regularly feeds information on his activities to spymaster Reed (Lancashire).

Although Helen believed her affair to be private, Reed is all too aware of what she's been up to and matter-of-factly informs her that she is likely to be targeted next – sparking a race to find the culprits before they can get to her.

Exiled assassin Sam (Whishaw), who helped train Helen years earlier, is brought in to support the operation, but he's carrying baggage of his own as we soon find out.

Each of these characters is a mesmerising presence on screen. Knightley's complex protagonist is a refreshingly different kind of spy than we've seen lately, capable of genuine warmth and vulnerability while still being ruthless in her search for revenge.

Helen's dynamic with Reed also feels steeped in history and able to flip at a moment's notice, making their icy interactions truly gripping as each attempts to gain or maintain the upper hand.

Meanwhile, you could write a whole essay on the significance of Sam – and in fact, I may well do – as an unabashed gay man at the centre of an action-packed conspiracy, who is just as willing and capable of getting his hands dirty as anyone else.

What a shame, then, that they find themselves investigating another generic mystery revolving around two-dimensional government officials and the vague threat of an international incident.

Yes, I keep up with the news and I am well aware of which countries the UK government cosies up to and which it has a more rocky relationship with, to put it mildly.

I understand that if Barton wishes for Black Doves to feel 'of the moment' or 'ripped from the headlines', then dropping in a subplot involving X nation, in this case China, is an easy way to achieve that. It also feels a tad lazy.

I never expected ITV1's Red Eye to be such a recurring reference point this year, but just as Nightsleeper evoked its crisis on commercial transport, Black Doves revolves around a similar conspiracy (and even borrows a cast member, in the form of Dan Li).

There, the chaos began with the murder of a woman, who proved to be the daughter of a senior Chinese Communist Party (CCP) member. Here, it starts with the suspected murder of a Chinese diplomat on British soil (and the disappearance of his daughter to boot).

Clearly, these storylines are intended to tap into viewer anxieties over real-world global tension, but neither is a particularly imaginative or interesting catalyst for a television drama.

In fact, it's quite remarkable how much energy and momentum escapes Black Doves the moment that we're plonked back into Whitehall for a flat, cryptic exchange between Helen's oblivious husband, Wallace (Andrew Buchan), and another man invariably dressed in a black suit.

Perhaps this is a sign of the times, but watching fictional politicians fret about fictional diplomats and the burgeoning threat of a fictional international conflict just makes my brain switch off.

That's not to say that the entire genre of political thriller should be laid to rest – a more grounded and realistic take could have some value – but this show is about an imaginary spy agency and the colourful personal lives of its operatives (with some assassins and gangsters thrown in for good measure).

Therefore, I ask: did these winning components really have to be glued together by such a bland, dare I say stereotypical, plot about a vague threat to Anglo-Chinese relations?

Could there have been literally anything more novel at the centre?

Fortunately, there is plenty going on around the sides, including an emotional subplot for Whishaw's Sam regarding an ex-boyfriend, played by It's A Sin star Omari Douglas, with Barton expertly utilising flashback in a way that doesn't slow down the pacing at all.

Uncovering the secrets of Helen and Sam – how they came into this dangerous line of work and how their journeys intersect – is genuinely fascinating, and their chemistry and depth keeps Black Doves an engaging watch in spite of its underwhelming backdrop.

Black Doves is available to stream on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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