Bodyguard
2018
Original language: English
- crime
- drama
- war & politics
- mystery
The story
A troubled war veteran is assigned to protect a controversial politician who may be the target of a terror plot.
What it’s like
Taut, grey and interior: London rooms lit by overhead fluorescents and the cold blue of train-station platforms, with handheld camera hugging characters in corridors, cars and crowded halls. The palette is muted (charcoal suits, rain-dark streets, pale hospital and Commons corridors) and the score is pulsing, low-register strings that tighten at every threat and drop away to near silence between them. The show is built around cliffhanger episodes that stop on a jolt, so it moves briskly and rarely lets the tension rest. Its tone is paranoid and procedural, a slow-burn thriller where every character might be lying. Intensity is high: sudden, brief but brutal gunfire and explosions, a few bloody injuries, and a constant undercurrent of dread about who will be hurt next, with sexual content minimal. The emotional core is a traumatised former soldier and a combative politician circling each other with suspicion that slowly, reluctantly turns to something like respect. It suits a late-night binge with the lights off, or a gripping weekend when you want to be kept on edge. It is for viewers who enjoy political intrigue, character-driven thrillers and an unsettled, watchful mood.
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