What with particularly turbulent times in the Middle East recently, this epic four-part war saga from BAFTA award-winning director Peter Kosminsky (Warriors, The Government Inspector), set in the disputed Palestinian territories, certainly has a timely feel.
Little Dorrit star Claire Foy is Erin, a spoilt 18 year-old who runs away from home to join her friend Eliza (Perdita Weeks) as she begins compulsory military service in her native Israel. Before she leaves, she visits her ailing grandfather, who is seemingly on his deathbed. When sorting through his possessions, she discovers a diary recalling his time as a young soldier serving in the British Army policing the Palestinian/Israeli border at Gaza. The Promise follows Erin’s experiences in the region as she reads through the tale of her grandfather, Sergeant Leonard Matthews, played charismatically by Cemetery Junction’s Christian Cooke.
Essentially an idiot’s guide to the region’s post-WWII problems, Foy is remarkable as that very idiot. Bratty and ignorant to begin with, Erin’s selfish naivety gradually becomes political idealism as she starts to empathise with her grandfather’s experiences and gains a sense of purpose, albeit hampered by a still breathtaking naivety. She learns something about both sides of the conflict from Eliza’s anti-settlement activist brother Paul (Itay Tiran) and his Palestinian friend Omar (Haaz Sleiman ); her slow slide from one side of the fence to the other mirrors part of her grandfather’s journey subtly and without preaching.
It’s easy, though not necessarily correct, to translate Erin’s convincingly irritating presence as representative of Britain’s involvement in the faltering peace process, her complete lack of understanding and general impotence possibly indicative of the writers’ attitude toward Britain’s role.
Sergeant Matthews’ story is told parallel to Erin’s through a series of flashbacks, thankfully not translated to black-and-white. Action scenes are compelling, immersive and have a feeling of general authenticity, perhaps owing to the high proportion of filming done on location and recruitment of local actors. Matthews leads his troop as traumatized Jewish concentration camp survivors and refugees from Nazi-ravaged Europe arrive illegally in boats, desperate for some respite from their horrific wartime experiences.
Cooke as Matthews plays a man torn three-ways, portraying just the right mixture of sympathy for the Israelis’ need for somewhere to live and the Palestinian’s right to remain where they are. This is skilfully developed, not just as an abstract generalisation but also through his friendship with local man Mohammed (Ali Suliman) and his family and love affair with glamorous Israeli Clara (Katharina Schüttler). Whilst facing moral choices in his personal relationships, he also feels conflicted over his orders. This tension goes some way to explaining the broken man we see in modern-day Britain as Matthews lies in hospital; his moral turmoil is reflected elegantly as wartime tragedy unfolds on a larger scale (the story is loosely based on actual events).
On every level, The Promise is a spectacular piece of television which should, by rights, go down with some of the dramatic greats. Everything required for essential viewing is present – an excellent cast; three-dimensional, flawed characters that you still somehow care about even when they’re wrong; terrific, thrilling action and the sense of things being on a grand scale.
The Promise has been accused of anti-Semitism from some quarters. It’s possible to interpret it this way, though this is far more important television than just mere one-sided propaganda. Taking a complicated political situation that in the UK we are all used to hearing as background noise on the news and turning it into a compelling, deeply personal, but perhaps most importantly, entertaining whole is an incredible trick.
This highly palatable production presents troubled individuals and heroes on all sides, pushing the need for a solution as something as desperately needed as it ever was. The Promise represents that rarest of shows: intelligence without hectoring, emotion without sentimentality and high-paced action with a full sense of its consequences.
Released on DVD and Blu-ray on Monday 28th February 2011 by 4DVD.