Remember Forest Gump? He seemed to be everywhere when anything of significance in history was happening. The same might be said of Sidney Reilly, the eponymous character in the British TV limited series, Reilly, Ace of Spies. The show is based on the life and adventures of Sidney Reilly, who was definitely a spy for the British government in the early part of the 20th century. That is the only thing definite about this man's story. He traveled through some of the most important events in European history. Whether he helped to shape that history or was only a minor player is something I cannot ascertain for sure.
Let us begin with his name. Nobody is sure what his real name was. However, it was clearly not Reilly. I don't have to worry about spoilers in this review, for Reilly did truly exist and he had a life story that is described in the Britannica online. Check it out if you want to know more. Unfortunately, just about every 'fact' included in his biography is couched in phrases such as, 'It is reported', or 'it is believed'.
The man, Reilly, is a chimera. He existed, but in what form? He married...how many times? He divorced, it is believed. He was born to Russian parents, maybe, and was given the birth name Rosenblum, perhaps. He was Jewish, it is believed. His life story goes on like this.
He was a player. That is a fact. He schemed at the highest levels of government and managed to be involved in the Russo-Japanese War, World War I, and the Russian Revolution. He was, without question, there for each event.
The murkiness of Reilly's life story resides in the role he filled as spy. He lied to everybody about everything. He had to, because he was not what he seemed. It was his job to be duplicitous.
Although the series follows his life, that's not the fascinating part for me. The series was interesting because it showed me a new side of historic events I'd read about. In fact, if we pay attention to the events around Reilly, we will have an excellent primer on the geopolitical background for the world that exists today.
For example, Reilly was at Port Arthur at the start of the Russo-Japanese War. This first major war of the twentieth century was prophetic for the events that would lead to WWII.
In the series, and in life, the Japanese made a bold strike in China, against the Russians, because they believed such a strike was essential to their future as a strong nation state. Russia...arrogant, confident, uninformed...stumbled into that war, without an understanding of its possible consequences. The series does a wonderful job of showing us the perspectives of the two nation states. What the series does not do (and indeed should not do) is highlight how Japan's need to expand would become a factor in the dynamic that led to the Sino-Japanese War in the 30's and war with the U. S. in 1941.The series also doesn't highlight what most historians believe: Russia's blunder in the Russo-Japanese War laid the groundwork for the revolutionary movement that was already afoot. A mounting popular discontent was accelerated by the war and eventually would lead to the Tsar’s removal and murder in 1917.
Reilly is in the thick of all this. His Russian origin allows him to navigate the complex diplomacy that evolves between Russia and Japan, Russia and Germany, Russia and the UK.
One of the mysteries of the show is, what is Reilly's motivation? The question arises, but is not answered--not to my satisfaction, at least. Is it money? He surely loves money. Is it the UK? He seems always to return to the British operatives and to work on their behalf. Is it to friends, lovers? He at first seems like a cad and then in the end is portrayed as someone with fierce loyalty to a friend and a lover. I frankly don't believe the transition. I think it's an artifact of the show, intended to win audience sympathy as Reilly heads into hard times.
There are other characters in the series, but not one of them is especially memorable. They are only memorable in that they portray enormously significant historical figures. Stalin, for example. Lenin. Dzerzhinsky.Stalin, of course, we know, shaped the modern Russian state. Lenin, it might be said, gave it life. And Dzerzhinsky was the player who provided the muscle that helped both Stalin and Lenin crush opposition and secure their idea of a revolutionary government.
In each case the actor is costumed to look like the historic figure represented. In each case the script offers a personality profile that accords with the descriptions provided by mainstream Western writers. I don't know how true these characterizations are, but they are consistent with our understanding of the history at that time.
Sam Neill as Reilly is persuasive and entertaining. It has been suggested that Reilly the spy was an inspiration for the James Bond we came to know in the movies. Sam Neill does fit the bill. He is attractive, debonair, shrewd and a ladies man. I've looked at actual pictures of Reilly, and he does not look like Sam Neill. Reilly was not nearly as attractive, although, after he grew a beard he looked a little better.
I recommend this series to anyone who likes a good story. I recommend it strongly to anyone who is interested in history, particularly the history of the modern age.
As I finished watching the series I was left with a number of rather philosophical observations. To the people who were making decisions that affected world history, the lives of individuals did not matter. Loss of life, even the loss of great numbers of people, did not enter into decisions. Only success, calculated success of a mission, of a goal, mattered.
After I finished watching the show I thought about a book I'd read a few years ago: The Accidental Anarchist by Bryna Kranzler. Kranzler writes of her ancestor, Jacob Marateck, who, as a Russian, was conscripted into the Russo-Japanese War. He left a memoir that described his experience in that war. It seemed the people who led him had no idea what they were doing. They had no interest at all in the survival of the conscripts. To the leaders, the conscripts were expendable numbers. Then I thought about today, and how easily war is declared and waged, about how people are just numbers to be used as soldiers or bargaining chips while territory is exchanged.
Reilly, Ace of Spies leaves one with that sense, the sense that the lives of individuals are immaterial. All that matters is the success of a grand scheme. Often, tragically, those schemes do not come to fruition. At that point of failure, the schemers just move on and leave more bodies in their wake.
I think it would be hard to watch this series and to not come away cynical. Even the people who are idealists don't seem to care about people. They only seem to care about an idea and are willing to sacrifice themselves and others to realization of that idea.
I won't reveal how this series ends. Look it up in Britannica if you wish. Otherwise, get a bin of popcorn, turn on your streaming device and enjoy, Reilly, Ace of Spies.
Some interesting data points:
*The series is based on a book, Memoirs of a British Agent, by R. H. Bruce Lockhart. Lockhart was also an agent and he worked with Reilly.
*Sidney Reilly received the Military Cross from the British government in 1919 for Distinguished Service.
The following is from Wikipedia:
Screenplay: by Troy Kennedy Martin
Directed: by Martin Campbell, Jim Goddard
Starring: Sam Neill, Jeananne Crowley, Leo McKern, Tom Bell, Kenneth Cranham, Norman Rodway
Theme music composer: Harry Rabinowitz; Dmitri Shostakovic
The film clips link to the site, Reilly, Ace of Spies Playlist
I streamed the show on Amazon Prime Video
