Areticent man goes undercover and becomes a bohemian businessman who hobnobs with the top political and military leaders of Syria. He gains their trust and faithfully relays the classified information they let slip over drinks and women to his bosses in Tel Aviv. What Eliyahu ‘Eli’ Cohen, the most popular Israeli spy, managed to do for his country during his undercover days in Damascus could make even the most daring onscreen masters of espionage look inconsequential.
Netflix’s latest six-episode mini-series, The Spy, directed by Gideon Raff and starring Sacha Baron Cohen in the lead, follows Eli Cohen as he transforms from a simple clerk to a super-spy in the early 1960s. When we meet him first, Eli is a struggling but happy family man. However, as an Egyptian Jew in Israel, he feels like a second-class citizen. He is a fierce patriot nonetheless, and wants to serve his country. Although his application to join the Mossad gets rejected initially, he is called back when it becomes imperative for Israel to have an operative in Syria.
After the customary training montage, he goes undercover as Kamel Amin Thaabet, a wealthy businessman. Eli wants to succeed desperately, but such eagerness is not conducive to a mission that requires subtlety above all else. After a few suspenseful and dramatic initial encounters, Eli manages to be counted among the most influential personalities in Damascus.
However, being in the shoes of Thaabet begins to take a toll on Eli. Occasionally, the line between him and his alter ego blurs. A mighty man who is revered by all in the country he is sent to, he finds it hard to be a normal person back in Israel. In an interview, Raff had told Forbes, “It (The Spy) is more about the minutiae of spying and what it does to your identity, what it does to your character.”
The Spy is a Sacha Baron Cohen show through and through. The actor has already proved that he is a master at disguises through Borat, Bruno and Ali G. You may be reminded of his Borat act in the beginning of the show, but it quickly fades as Cohen slips into the shoes of Eli with great ease. Noah Emmerich as Eli’s supervisor, Dan Peleg, and Hadar Ratzon Rotem as Eli’s wife, Nadia, also deliver standout performances.
The show, which appears to have been made on a tight budget, devotes a considerable amount of time to Eli’s family back in Israel. This may be a luxury for a mini-series, as these scenes only amount to mere cliches. Besides, the show occasionally makes manipulation and espionage look too simple. However, these flaws do not deprive The Spy of its thrill quotient, nor Eli of his bravado.
THE SPY
Available on Neflix
Rating: 3.5/5
