Poseidon-3 Review of The High Commissioner

The High Commissioner (1968)

A striking international cast helps to lift this glossy film.

[17 October 2008]

Based on a novel by John Cleary, this Cold War-era espionage drama offers the interesting pairing of Taylor and Plummer. Taylor is a rough-hewn, Australian policeman who also herds sheep on a spacious ranch. One day he's called in to government official McKern's office and ordered to fly to London to arrest the High Commissioner (Plummer) who has allegedly killed his first wife and changed his name nearly two decades prior. Taylor, sensing political motivations behind this move, is somewhat reluctant to do it, but duty compels him nonetheless. He arrives at Plummer's mansion just as a lavish reception is taking place. It turns out that Plummer is in the midst of highly sensitive and important peace talks and refuses to go back to Australia until they are resolved within a few days. However, even that becomes an issue when it becomes clear that someone else wants the talks ended and has determined, to that end, to bump off Plummer! Taylor then finds himself defending the life of the man he's come to arrest. Taylor gives a fine, well-nuanced performance and is permitted to speak in his own Australian dialect. He seems to be performing much of his own fight choreography and offers up a handsome, rough and tumble, yet gentle hero. Plummer, looking incredibly elegant and attractive, is much cooler and more refined. The two men make an intriguing duo. Palmer plays Plummer's present wife. In a departure from conventional casting, she is 15 years his senior (and the difference is noticeable.) She turns in an affecting performance, punctuated by her devotion to her husband. Sparv is Plummer's secretary. She isn't called upon to do much besides look lovely, which she does with much ease. A bit more interesting turn comes from Lavi as a sexually ravenous political mover and shaker. She looks positively stunning and has some of the highest hair ever piled up for the cinema screen. Rounding out the primary cast are Revill as a snooty butler, Lockhart as a nosy delegate and Tone (who appears in just one brief scene) as the American Ambassador. The film has that spotless, elegant feel of the era (driven home in more than a few unfortunate sequences set outdoors, but quite clearly taking place inside!) despite a relatively modest budget. Stock footage of Wimbledon is crudely inserted into one scene and the two lead males are often substituted with doubles in the outdoor and location sequences. The peace talks are kept vague, to say the least, and are mostly represented by a series of parties or gatherings in the hallways outside the conference area. Diversity of nations is shown almost at a "Mission: Impossible" level with no specifically mentioned nations and some African types wearing large headgear here and there. One attempted assassination has a very Hitchcockian feel to it, though it certainly isn't on the same level as his work in, say, "The Man Who Knew Too Much." Still, it's a generally engrossing story with a healthy dose of action and mystery, suspense even. The cast is uniformly solid and the ladies look terrific. Delerue delivers a pleasing musical score. This may come off as a little too sterile for everyone and the ending is rather a stretch, but fans of Cold War era thrillers and of the stars should enjoy it a lot.