Berlin Review: Susanne Bier's 'The Night Manager' Starring Tom Hiddleston & Hugh Laurie

Reader, you find your humble reviewer in a state of some agony. Mistakenly under the impression I was "lucky" to be among the chosen few getting a sneak preview of the 6-part John Le Carré adaptation "The Night Manager," directed by Susanne Bier, I fear I now have to suggest that the screening was part of some malicious torture plan. I have as acute a case of cliffhanger angst as has been recorded, and I don't get even temporary relief until three weeks from Sunday. The utter moreishness of this instantly terrific, thoroughly escapist show may be its biggest issue: with the 6 hour-long episodes airing weekly on Sundays starting this weekend, on BBC1 in the U.K. (and in April on AMC in the U.S.), the only craving this smart, glamorous, knotty thriller can't satisfy is the urgent desire to binge.

For now, though, I can say that even the partial glimpse I've had of the first two episodes seems like the complete package: pacy as a whippet, sleek...