Diary of a Spy (2022) 

An intelligence officer whose career is on the downfall gets a mission to befriend and recruit a man with ties to the Saudi Royal Family. 

Written and directed by Adam Christan Clark, Diary of a Spy is female-centric spy film that is low on the action and high on the drama. This is not a typical spy film with lots of running, fighting, gun play, etc. This is the kind of spy film that is more on the mental level of being a spy. Using a female operative whose career is at its natural end after she’s let herself go and perhaps has seen too much in her life is an interesting take on the usual spy stories. This spy here is one who still has some capacities, but when she isn’t working, she isn’t taking the best of decisions. This leads to a bit of a depressive start to the film which will not work for some, but worked here in terms of making it a clear end of career with a touch of self-destruction. 

The film stars Tamara Taylor as spy Anna who is fantastic here. She gives given-desperation-but-doesn’t-really-want-to-give-up a realistic persona. Here she is clearly not peppy, but also not dead yet as Anna. The performance she gives has a variety of facets and some real depth. Her character requires that she be able to switch on a dime and she does. This is the kind of work that is great to see even though a bit depressing at times. Playing the young man she is trying to bring to her side in this situation is Reece Noi who gives a mostly subdued performance which is exactly what the character needed. This isn’t a gun-ho random dude wanting to be a spy, this is a man who is kind of stuck into possibly turning spy because of what he knows and who he has accesss to. His performance is on point in that manner. The rest of the cast is decent with some performances coming off a bit grating, but that is the point here.  

While Diary of a Spy is well-shot with cinematography by David McFarland, a lot of it takes place in dark places such as nightclubs, dimlit lit hotel rooms, and random cars. This leads to the visual side of things making it a bit harder to follow the story. While it’s not entirely an issue, overall it does bring the enjoyment of the film down a bit here.  

Diary of a Spy is a decent drama with a great lead performance by Tamara Taylor. This is a film viewers will need to be in the mood for or it will not work, but when in the right frame of mind, this slightly depressive, slightly hopeful spy drama hits the right notes.