Trackers Guardian Review
Despite the odd cheesy exchange, Sky’s latest import is a solid drama set against an action-packed backdrop of espionage, terrorism and political intrigue.
n this least stressful of weeks, why not try Trackers (Sky Atlantic), a South African spy thriller that ladles on the tension, and should raise heart rates to at least to the same level as the rolling news. This knotty adaptation of Deon Meyer’s novel weaves together the stories of three characters, seemingly disconnected at the start, against a backdrop of spying, Islamic terrorism and political intrigue in Cape Town and beyond.
It has more than a touch of the homelands to it. In rural Loxton, a man with a thousand-yard stare and a Fassbender air called “Lemmer” – though that may not be his real name – almost starts a bar brawl, until an older man and woman mysteriously hold him back. In the Cape Town suburbs, Milla walks out of the family home, leaving her son and husband behind, with nothing but a note on the pillow to explain herself. Elsewhere, the Presidential Bureau of Intelligence (PBI) are investigating an Islamist plot to attack a sporting event when a mole, Ismail, comes to them with secretly filmed evidence.Advertisement
From the beginning, Trackers operates at full speed. Terror cell the Committee have been on the PBI’s radar for months although they were dismissed as fantasists, until Ismail’s recording shows the involvement of an al-Qaida top brass known as Daoud, who has form for dastardly international attacks. But the PBI is struggling with its own internal battles (aren’t we all) and is in danger of being closed down, owing to an earlier mishap by director Lena that may have grave political consequences.
Meanwhile, Milla is applying for jobs to support her new independent life. Having trained to be a journalist, tries her luck at a newspaper, where she is picked up by the PBI via some not very sophisticated tactics. “Can you keep a secret?” asks the recruiter. “That’s all I’ve done for the last 20 years,” says Milla, striding away, not bothering to find out what it might be. Every journalist I know is so nosy they’d get whiplash from turning around to find out what the secret was, rather than walking off. Amazingly, Milla gets the spy gig, and of course, she turns out to be rather good at it.
This is the kind of show that doesn’t bother introducing names until it’s completely necessary. I watched most of the first episode with no idea what anyone was called. Not that it mattered, given Trackers’ fondness for a tense action sequence. The first episode features more chases than the ITV afternoon schedule: someone is shot and runs away over the rooftops, a man is turned away by his furious auntie, and almost rumbles the secret officers who are attempting to install surveillance equipment on his house … There is barely time to take a breath, and then Lemmer comes back into the action, with a not-yet-linked smuggling plot that reveals some staggeringly risky cargo.
Trackers a solid thriller, a little familiar in places, but done with enough skill to make it worth the investment. And it’s easy to forgive the odd cheesy exchange – “Remind me why we do this?” “Because it’s our job” – when the action is this good. The opener demands a bit of patience and some trust that all of the storylines will eventually come together. But if at first it feels like a 1,000-piece jigsaw, then it is a very good-looking – and gripping – one.
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