Keira Knightley shines in and elevates Netflix’s espionage series Black Doves, making it one of her most impressive television efforts. Knightley recently led the cast of Hulu’s true crime drama Boston Strangler, which most found engaging albeit derivative of other serial killer series. While the same could be said about Black Doves and the spy thriller genre, creator Joe Barton (The Lazarus Project) morphs several genres – action, thriller, romance, comedy – into an ambitious series that is thoroughly enjoyable.
Black Doves is one of several new crime/action thriller series recently released and is ultimately one of the better ones on the slate. Knightley is aided by a strong ensemble cast, most notably her fellow co-star Ben Whishaw, who plays a deadpan yet warm triggerman named Sam Young. Other standouts include Omari Douglas’ heartbreaking Michael and Ella Lily Hyland’s punchy Williams. The exceptionally choreographed fight scenes and thoughtful use of extended flashbacks also help make Black Dovesanother winner for Netflix.
Keira Knightley’s Helen Webb Is One Of Her Most Lively & Badass Protagonists
Webb Is A Commanding & Captivating Lover-Fighter Hybrid
Knightley’s Helen Webb feels like a character written specifically with its lead actress in mind. Webb is sophisticated yet approachable, poised and polished but truly quite messy, defiant and lethal with a soft heart under armored skin. Webb is exactly the type of protagonist that enables Knightley to utilize her natural and signature allure, which initially made her a global star as Elizabeth Swann in Pirates of the Caribbean. What’s more, Webb is highly intelligent and dangerously calculated with just the right touch of spontaneous rebellion.
In a genre as saturated as the revenge-fueled action thriller, Knightley is a welcome face who immediately sparks palpable intrigue. Her protagonist is riddled with contradictions based on the central lie existing in her every footstep as a member of the Black Doves, a sort of rogue intelligence agency that flies no flag and sells its intel to the highest bidder.
“Knightley effortlessly makes Webb grounded and often relatable despite her secret profession. That is, until she pulls out a switchblade”
While Webb’s extensive origin story has a few unacknowledged holes, her core drive is fully human. She is motivated by common factors such as love and maternal instinct rather than a cold need for wealth and status. Knightley effortlessly makes Webb grounded and often relatable despite her secret profession. That is, until she pulls out a switchblade.
Black Doves Blends Multiple Genres & Creates A Uniquely Refreshing (Yet Flawed) Political Thriller
Its Gradual Tonal Shifts Are Carefully Implemented & Keep Us Engaged
One of the most impressive feats of Black Doves is how seamlessly it blends together genres and avoids abrupt shifts that would otherwise throw off the narrative’s pace and tone. It’s evident the series knows itself well enough, especially through its attentive use of match cuts in both editing and plot that interweave themes and events quite effectively.
This self-awareness allows Black Doves to sway in and out of genres without going too far and risk losing the core identity of the plot. A scene could begin with a gorily fatal headshot and could end with a passionate kiss. For a six-part series, such a contrasting range is undoubtedly impressive and keeps us wholeheartedly engaged.
Like its two main characters, Helen and Sam, Black Doves morphs itself to fit the situation at hand and gives all its attention to whichever genre – often romantic drama and screwball comedy – it visits before returning to its action-fueled espionage center. As a result, we see Helen and Sam as the people they truly are beneath their professional personas and the pain they must privately live with beneath the hidden lifestyles they have chosen.
All things considered, Helen and Sam are quite well-rounded and flawed people, which makes them accessible apart from their mythical jobs. The series’ gradual shifts in genre and tone wonderfully allow the depths of its characters to surface.
“Black Doves can feel structurally undisciplined and might have bitten off more subplots than its narrative could chew”
Also like its protagonists, Black Doves is far from perfect. Its flaws reveal themselves in its thin political drama — that can’t hold a candle to Netflix’s The Diplomat — and one-dimensional American characters who share a similar daftness despite their high-ranking positions. The first half works diligently to set up many questions that either get abandoned along the way, tied up by convenience, or disappointingly explained through after-the-fact exposition. Black Doves can feel structurally undisciplined and ultimately digs into more subplots than it can chew. Its strongest attributes, the best of them Knightley, do much to redeem its faults.
