A historic international summit between the French President and British Prime Minister takes a dangerous turn when the latter’s husband is suddenly kidnapped and held for ransom. Both leaders are forced to put their rivalry aside and work together to uncover the truth behind what’s happened.
Streaming on: Netflix
Episodes viewed: 5 of 5
The phenomenon of ‘Netflix bloat’, as it is sometimes called, can threaten to drag out many shows far longer than needed — holding viewers hostage if they want to stick around and find out what happens at the end. It’s refreshing, then, that a series actually titled Hostage would be a Netflix original to defy this trend. Created by Matt Charman, co-writer of the Oscar-winning Bridge Of Spies, this political thriller puts the emphasis on excitement over any real-world politics. The result is an entertaining if rather shallow watch, somehow fun and forgettable all at once.
Suranne Jones, also on board as executive producer, brings suitable gravitas to her leading role as Prime Minister Abigail Dalton, making her as convincing as she can with sometimes scant material to work from. There are glimpses of something more, especially in the chemistry she shares with her husband/kidnap victim Alex (Ashley Thomas). But his role is mostly limited to a few sporadic flashbacks and very little else. Julie Delpy’s French leader, Vivienne Toussaint, is thankfully given more substance, and it’s a joy to see her have so much fun in a series like this, especially when sparring against Jones or putting misogynistic men in their place. Delpy nicely toes the line between camp and seriousness, even when other elements of the writing and production verge towards the wrong side of soapy.
Tonally, this is some distance from a serious Downing Street-set drama; fleeting references to the political landscape that these two leaders navigate outside of their kidnapping snafu are frustratingly flimsy. On the plus side, that means there’s little to distract from the propulsive thrust of the main narrative, which goes out of its way to keep you hooked with its fast pace and increasingly far-fetched cliffhangers. The result is silly and rather slight — not always a bad thing in an era of streaming excess where you can easily lose ten hours of your life to a show that could have been told in five.
Hostage is the rare Netflix show that doesn’t outstay its welcome. A solid binge for viewers who like their thrillers lean, entertaining, and somewhat vacuous.
